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FREDERICK  TREVOR  HILL 


LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


3  .    ; 


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LINCOLN 

EMANCIPATOR  OF  THE 
NATION 


By   FREDERICK   TREVOR   HILL 

HISTORY 
LINCOLN:  EMANCIPATOR  OFTHE  NATION 
LINCOLN  THE  LAWYER 
DECISIVE)  BATTLES  OF  THE  LAW 
THE  STORY  OF  A  STREET 
ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  WASHINGTON 
ON  THE  TRAIL  OF  GRANT  AND  LEE 
WASHINGTON-THE  MAN  OF  ACTION 

ESSAYS 
LINCOLN'S  LEGACY  OF  INSPIRATION 

LAW 
THE  CARE  OF  ESTATES 

FICTION 
THE  CASE  AND  EXCEPTIONS 
THE  MINORITY 
THE  WEB 
THE  ACCOMPLICE 
THE  13th  JUROR 
TALES  OUT  OF  COURT 
HIGH  SCHOOL  FARCES 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://www.archive.org/details/lincolnemancipatOOhill 


Courte.su  of  Messrs.  Harris  and  Ewing. 

ABRAHAM     LINCOLN    AT    ABOUT    35 


LINCOLN 

EMANCIPATOR  OF  THE 
NATION 


A  NARRATIVE  HISTORY  OF  LINCOLN  S  BOYHOOD 
AND  MANHOOD  BASED  ON  HIS  OWN  WRITINGS, 
ORIGINAL  RESEARCH,  OFFICIAL  DOCUMENTS 
AND    OTHER    AUTHORITATIVE    INFORMATION 


BY 

FREDERICK  TREVOR  HILL 


NEW     YORK     AND     LONDON 

D.    APPLETON    &    COMPANY 

MCMXXVIII 


COPYRIGHT    1928       BY 

D.      APPLETON      AND       COMPANY 


PRINTED   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES   OF  AMERICA 


To 

THE     ACTIVE,     HONORARY     AND 
AFFILIATED    MEMBERS    OF    THE 

F.  T.  ASSOCIATION 


FOREWORD 

It  is  a  strange  fact — and  one  that  is  often  forgotten 
or  slurred — that  Lincoln,  in  whom  all  the  hopes  of  the 
North  were  centered  during  the  Civil  War,  was  a 
Southerner  both  by  birth  and  inheritance.  Indeed  he 
was,  in  a  way,  a  born  and  bred  Virginian,  for  his  native 
state — Kentucky — was  owned  by  Virginia  up  to  within 
a  few  years  of  his  birth  and  the  bulk  of  its  population 
was  recruited  from  the  Old  Dominion. 

Certainly  all  Lincoln's  immediate  ancestors  were  Vir- 
ginians, either  by  adoption  or  grace,  for  his  grand- 
father and  his  father  both  came  from  that  state  with 
the  vanguard  of  the  settlers  who  swept  into  Kentucky 
toward  the  close  of  the  Revolution.  His  mother's  peo- 
ple were  likewise  numbered  among  those  hardy  pioneers. 

On  both  sides  of  his  family  he  was,  therefore,  closely 
affiliated  with  the  great  commonwealth  whose  right  to 
be  known  as  the  "Mother  of  Presidents,"  remains  un- 
challenged. 

Of  course  Lincoln  can  no  longer  properly  be  claimed 
by  any  state  or  section  of  the  country.  He  is  a  na- 
tional heritage  belonging  neither  to  Virginia  nor  Ken- 
tucky, nor  to  Indiana,  nor  to  Illinois — but  "to  the 
Ages." 

Nevertheless,  in  attempting  to  make  any  just  esti- 

vii 


FOREWORD 

mate  of  his  character  and  services,  it  is  helpful  to  re- 
member that  he  was  not  a  product  of  the  North,  but  of 
the  South.  And,  if  local  pride  must  be  satisfied,  he 
was,  more  than  anything  else,  a  Virginian. 

He  has  been  hailed  as  "the  first  American."  That 
oft-quoted  and  frequently  misinterpreted  tribute 
touches  the  true  keynote  of  his  quality.  Unless  it  be 
clearly  sounded  and  its  pitch  sustained,  there  can  be  no 
real  harmony  between  Lincoln's  life  work  and  his  fame. 

The  history  of  the  United  States  prior  to  1860  is 
replete  with  the  names  of  men  whose  brilliant  achieve- 
ments added  luster  to  the  records  of  their  coun- 
try. Such  men  were  not  lacking  at  the  critical  period 
when  the  existence  of  the  Union  was  at  stake.  They 
played  their  part  in  the  titanic  struggle  and  fairly 
earned  the  high  place  accorded  them  on  the  honor  roll 
of  the  Republic. 

But  throughout  the  miasma  of  civil  war  and  bitter 
sectional  feeling  Lincoln,  though  the  representative  of  a 
partisan  group,  was  the  only  statesman  who,  from  first 
to  last,  thought  nationally.  In  other  words,  he  was 
the  one  leader  of  public  opinion  that  invariably  stated 
all  disrupting  problems  which  confronted  him  in  the 
terms  of  the  nation,  concentrated  his  attention  on  its 
welfare  and  let  that  dominate  every  other  issue. 

He,  preeminently,  if  not  alone,  had  the  breadth  of 
mind  to  recognize  that  the  North  as  well  as  the  South 
was  responsible  for  the  existence  of  slavery.     To  his 

viii 


FOREWORD 

mind  it  was  not  a  local  but  a  national  disgrace  affect- 
ing the  whole  body  politic  and,  unmoved  by  personal 
prejudice  or  popular  clamor,  he  steadfastly  refused  to 
consider  it  from  any  narrow  viewpoint.  He  hated  slav- 
ery, not  as  a  self-righteous,  superior-minded  man  may 
loathe  the  crime  of  another,  but  because  it  tainted  the 
life  of  his  country  and  because  he  had  the  clearness  of 
vision  to  foresee  that  the  nation  could  not  endure  half 
slave  and  half  free. 

Every  state  in  the  Union  can  justly  pride  itself  on 
a  fair  quota  of  distinguished  citizens.  But  Kentucky 
produced  "the  first  American"  whose  supreme  thought 
was  the  nation. 

Lincoln  has  been  proclaimed  as  "the  Great  Eman- 
cipator." Intended  as  a  tribute,  that  title  has,  per- 
haps, done  more  to  prevent  an  intelligent  appreciation 
of  his  services  than  any  other  myth  for  which  mis- 
guided enthusiasm  is  responsible. 

Lincoln  was  a  factor — a  very  important  factor — in 
rescuing  the  negro  race  from  bondage.  But  he  was  not 
its  emancipator — a  statement  which  can  be  demon- 
strated by  his  own  words  and  actions,  supplemented  by 
documentary  proof. 

His  birthday  should  and  surely  some  day  will  be 
honored  in  every  part  of  the  Union  and  not  merely  in 
twenty-seven  of  its  states.  The  advent  of  that  day, 
however,  will  not  be  hastened  by  exaggerations  which 
he  himself  would  most  deplore.    Nor  will  it  arrive  until 

ix 


FOREWORD 

the  South  recognizes  that  it  had  no  better  friend  than 
Lincoln,  not  because  he  was,  by  birth  and  ancestry, 
allied  to  it,  but  because  it  was  a  part  of  the  nation  for 
which  he  lived  and  died.  Certainly  such  recognition 
cannot  be  furthered  by  perpetuating  the  myth  that  he 
issued  an  edict  that  ended  slavery.  He  did  nothing  of 
the  sort. 

True,  he  dedicated  himself — heart  and  mind — to  the 
extinction  of  human  slavery.  But  he  unwaveringly  sub- 
ordinated that  object  to  the  preservation  of  the  Union; 
rejected  all  temptations  to  achieve  it  regardless  of  the 
rights  of  the  slave-holding  states ;  afforded  them  every 
chance  which  sound  argument  and  fair  treatment  could 
suggest  for  abating,  and  finally  abandoning  the  na- 
tional evil,  and  only  as  a  war  measure  to  preserve  the 
Union,  resorted  to  the  emancipation  proclamation. 

That  famous  document  did  not,  as  is  popularly  sup- 
posed, abolish  slavery  in  the  United  States.  On  the 
contrary,  it  merely  gave  nominal  freedom  to  slaves  in 
certain  of  the  seceded  states.  Of  course,  those  who 
escaped  from  the  carefully  defined  areas  were  manu- 
mitted. But  to  some  of  the  territory  included  within 
their  borders  it  had  no  application  whatsoever.  It  did 
not  touch  and  was  not  intended  to  affect  the  institution 
of  slavery  in  any  part  of  the  Union  recognizing  the 
national  authority  or  subjected  to  its  control. 

The  proclamation  did  not  free  the  bondmen.  But 
it  helped  to  emancipate  the  South  from  slavery,  from 

x 


FOREWORD 

which  Lincoln  aided  the  whole  nation  to  emancipate 
itself. 

Lincoln  cared  nothing  for  titles  and  would  certainly 
not  have  coveted  that  of  "the  Emancipator."  His 
policy,  first  and  foremost,  was  to  eradicate  slavery, 
not  by  the  exercise  of  any  dictatorial  power,  but  by 
constitutional  action  expressing  the  will  of  the  people; 
and  it  was  carried  out  in  the  form,  if  not  in  the  spirit, 
in  which  he  conceived  it. 

But  the  stain  of  slavery  that  rested  on  the  land  of 
his  birth  was  really  washed  out,  not  by  legislative  la- 
bors, but  by  the  blood  of  the  thousands  upon  thousands 
of  men — North  and  South — who  gave  their  lives  that 
the  nation  might  have  "a  new  birth  of  freedom" — a 
freedom  purchased,  not  alone  by  blood,  but  by  the  sac- 
rifices and  sufferings  of  generations  of  Northern  as  well 
as  Southern  men  and  women  throughout  the  Union. 

That  was  what  Lincoln  meant  when  he  declared  that 
the  whole  nation  would  have  to  pay  fairly  for  its  com- 
plicity in  a  great  wrong. 

These  pages  are  dedicated,  first,  to  furthering  a 
proper  understanding  of  Lincoln  as  a  national  her- 
itage; and,  second,  to  clarifying  his  much  misunder- 
stood part  in  extinguishing  slavery  in  the  United 
States. 

The  writer  hereby  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to 
all  the  distinguished  authorities  who  have  enabled  him 
to  present  the  facts  herein  set  forth  with  confidence 

xi 


FOREWORD 

that  they  fairly  reflect  the  well-considered  conclusions 
of  modern  scholarship.  Whenever  equally  eminent  his- 
torians differ,  the  writer  has  either  covered  the  subject 
by  original  research  or  adopted  that  version  which,  in 
his  judgment,  is  supported  by  the  most  convincing 
proofs. 

A  list  of  the  main  sources  of  information  upon  which 
reliance  has  been  placed  is  appended. 

Frederick  Trevor  Hill 
The  Farm, 

Irvmgton  on  Hudson, 
New  York. 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Foreword          vii 

CHAPTER 

I.    A  Frontier  Episode 1 

II.    A  Wilderness  Farm 4 

III.  Dawning  Hopes 8 

IV.  The  Boonville  Court 12 

V.    Earning  a  Living 18 

VI.    "A  Sort  of  Clerk" 23 

VII.    A  Candidate  for  the  Assembly  .      .  27 

VIII.    The  Black  Hawk  War       ....  29 

IX.    Another  Campaign 33 

X.    The  Storekeeper 36 

XI.    Law  Student  and  Legislator       .      .  42 

XII.    A  Second  Campaign 46 

XIII.    First  Stand  on  Slavery     ....  49 

XIV.    A  Notable  Opportunity    ....  52 

XV.    Plunging  into  Practice     ....  58 

XVI.    The  Chance  of  a  Lifetime     ...  64 

XVII.    A  Congressman  of  Courage    ...  70 

XVIII.    Riding  the  Circuit 78 

XIX.    Experience  and  Development     .      .  85 

xiii 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

XX.    Famous   Cases 93 

XXI.    Interruption 103 

XXII.    The  Gathering  Storm      .      .      .  109 

XXIII.    The  Republican  Party    ...  114 

XXIV.    The  Challenge 120 

XXV.    The  Debates 127 

XXVI.    A  Fortunate  Defeat        .      .      .  134 
XXVII.    The  Nomination  for  the  Presi- 
dency           140 

XXVIII.    The  President-Elect        ...  145 

XXIX.    Inaugurated 150 

XXX.    On  the  Verge  of  War       .      .      .  153 

XXXI.    Opening  Moves 158 

XXXII.    A  Test  of  Patience     ....  166 
XXXIII.    Resisting   Pressure      .      .      .      .176 
XXXIV.    The      Emancipation      Proclama- 
tion       187 

XXXV.    The  Aftermath  of  the  Procla- 
mation         195 

XXXVI.    Gettysburg 203 

XXXVII.    Behind  the  Lines 209 

XXXVIII.    Grant  in  Command      .      .      .      .218 

XXXIX.    The  Dawning  of  Peace   .      .      .  229 

XL.    The  Close  of  Hostilities      .      .  242 

XLI.    Lincoln's  Last  Day     ....  248 

XLII.    A  National  Heritage       .      .      .  252 

xiv 


CONTENTS 
APPENDICES 

PAGE 

I.    Final       Emancipation       Proclamation, 

January  1,  1863 259 

II.    Transcript   of   Documentary   Illustra- 
tions with  Notes  on  Same    ....      263 

III.    Secession  Dates;  Dates  when   Slavery 

was  Abolished  by  State  Law    .      .      .      269 

IV.    Lincoln's  Slavery  Policy:  Chronology     271 

Authorities 279 

Index 281 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Abraham  Lincoln  at  about  35  frontispiece 

PAGE 

Letter  from  Abraham  Lincoln  to  Horace  Greeley       75 

Abraham  Lincoln,  1860 facing     136 

Abraham  Lincoln,  1863 facing     190 

First  draft,  in  Lincoln's  handwriting,  of  a  bill 
for  compensated  emancipation  of  slaves  in 
Delaware 199 

Letter  from  Abraham  Lincoln  to  A.  H.  Stephens     237 
Abraham  Lincoln,  1864 facing     256 


CHAPTER  I 

A  FRONTIER  EPISODE 

THE  flood  of  immigration  which  rapidly- 
transformed  Kentucky  from  a  wilderness 
into  a  thriving  settlement  began  about  1782,  and 
in  that  year  Abraham  Lincoln,  the  grandfather 
of  "the  first  American,"  arrived  in  the  future 
"blue  grass  state."  Like  many  other  farmers 
from  Virginia  he  had  been  attracted  to  the  newly 
discovered  region  by  reports  of  the  richness  of  its 
soil,  and  he  lost  no  time  in  putting  its  virtues  to 
the  test. 

He  was  not  destined,  however,  to  witness  the 
results  of  his  experiment,  for  while  he  was  still 
endeavoring  to  clear  his  land  of  trees,  a  band 
of  Indians,  resenting  the  settlers'  invasion  of 
their  hunting  grounds,  ambushed  and  shot  him 
down  in  the  presence  of  his  three  sons.  Indeed, 
for  a  moment,  his  whole  family  was  threatened 
with  annihilation.  But  the  two  older  boys  fled 
to  the  family  log  cabin  and  after  reaching  it  in 
safety  one  of  them  pluckily  stole  out  to  summon 

1 


LINCOLN 

help  from  the  nearest  stockade,  leaving  the  other 
to  protect  the  homestead. 

Meanwhile  the  third  boy,  Thomas — a  little  lad 
of  six — not  realizing  what  was  happening,  had 
calmly  seated  himself  beside  his  father's  body, 
offering  a  perfect  mark  to  the  hidden  savages. 
But  the  redskins,  bent  on  securing  the  white 
man's  scalp,  evidently  did  not  think  it  worth 
while  to  expend  ball  and  powder  on  a  child.  In 
a  few  moments  one  of  them  stealthily  emerged 
from  the  forest,  creeping  toward  his  victim  and 
the  unsuspecting  youngster.  But  he  never 
reached  them,  for  the  youth  guarding  the  cabin, 
taking  careful  aim  through  a  loophole  at  a  silver 
crescent  glistening  against  the  Indian's  body, 
shot  him  dead,  and  on  the  arrival  of  help  from 
the  stockade  rescued  Thomas  from  his  perilous 
situation. 

This  adventure  is  all  that  is  known  of  the 
childhood  of  the  father  of  the  future  President. 
It  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  he  survived  the 
other  dangers  of  the  wilderness,  but  the  pioneers 
were  sturdy  folk,  and  with  good  health  and  a  rifle 
it  was  always  possible  to  get  enough  to  eat. 
Thomas  Lincoln  never  did  much  more  than  that, 

2 


A   FRONTIER   EPISODE 

being  apparently  quite  satisfied  to  eke  out  a  sort 
of  hand-to-mouth  existence  in  a  happy-go-lucky 
way,  without  ever  becoming  dependent  on  oth- 
ers for  his  support.  Of  course,  he  had  no  edu- 
cation. But  that  did  not  handicap  him  with  his 
neighbors,  very  few  of  whom  knew  how  to  read 
or  write,  and  all  of  them  were  ready  to  employ 
him  whenever  he  felt  inclined  to  work,  for  la- 
borers of  any  kind  were  scarce.  For  a  while  he 
took  odd  jobs  with  the  farmers  and  gradually 
became  the  "hired  man"  of  another  pioneer  from 
Virginia,  whose  niece,  Nancy  Hanks,  he  subse- 
quently married. 


CHAPTER  II 

A  WILDERNESS  FARM 

THOMAS  LINCOLN  was  about  twenty- 
eight  when  he  and  his  young  wife  started 
housekeeping.  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade  but 
a  farmer  by  necessity,  for  he  had  never  displayed 
any  aptitude  for  carpentry  and  it  was  easier  to 
scratch  a  living  out  of  the  ground  than  to  per- 
suade people  to  employ  him  as  a  skilled  work- 
man. His  knowledge  of  agriculture,  however, 
may  be  judged  from  the  fact  that  whenever  he 
selected  a  site  for  a  farm  he  invariably  made  a 
poor  choice.  Certainly  the  tract  of  land  which 
he  acquired  near  Hodgenville  in  Hardin  County 
in  1809  was  about  as  hopeless  a  bit  of  property 
as  existed  anywhere  in  Kentucky.  Possibly  a 
man  of  industry  and  resourcefulness  might  have 
done  something  with  it,  but  its  possessor  was  not 
endowed  with  those  qualities.  On  the  contrary, 
he  was  so  shiftless,  if  not  actually  lazy,  that  the 
cabin  which  served  to  shelter  himself,  his  wife  and 
their  first-born — a  daughter — was  a  wretched  af- 
fair whose  construction  would  have  reflected  no 

4 


A   WILDERNESS   FARM 

credit  on  an  ordinary  woodsman,  to  say  nothing 
of  a  carpenter.  The  character  of  that  miserable 
dwelling — not  much  more  than  a  hovel — was, 
however,  in  keeping  with  the  unkempt,  hungry- 
looking  clearing  which  surrounded  it.  Indeed, 
the  whole  place  was  a  desolate  outpost  of  civili- 
zation, ill-chosen,  ill-kept  and  generally  com- 
fortless. 

Such  were  the  conditions  to  which  Abraham 
Lincoln  was  born  on  February  12,  1809.  But 
cheerless  as  they  seemed,  there  were  some  com- 
pensations. The  poverty  he  shared  was  not  de- 
grading penury.  Thriftless  as  his  father  was,  he 
never,  even  in  his  direst  need,  resorted  to  charity, 
and  his  wife,  better  educated  than  most  of  the 
pioneer  women,  made  a  brave  effort  to  inspire 
him  with  some  ambition.  She  never  succeeded  in 
doing  much  more  than  teach  him,  after  a  fashion, 
how  to  read  and  write  and  make  him  see  that 
there  was  some  advantage  in  having  his  son  at- 
tend a  local  school.  The  boy  was  then  about 
seven  years  old,  but  his  education  had  no  sooner 
begun  than  it  was  interrupted  by  his  father's  de- 
cision to  move  to  Indiana  where  he  fancied  there 
was  better  land.   There  may  have  been,  but  the 

5 


LINCOLN 

homestead  he  purchased  near  Gentryville  in  that 
state  was  no  improvement  on  the  one  he  had 
abandoned  in  Kentucky.  In  fact,  it  was  worse, 
for  the  family  had  no  shelter  except  a  rough 
lean-to  exposed  to  wind  and  weather  and  ob- 
tained nothing  more  substantial  for  many  a  long 
day  thereafter.  Moreover,  the  fields  of  the  so- 
called  farm,  filled  with  stones  and  stumps,  were 
scarcely  worth  cultivating.  Yet,  it  was  absolutely 
necessary  to  make  them  yield  something,  and 
Lincoln,  although  still  a  mere  child,  was  put  to 
work  rooting  and  grubbing  up  the  well-nigh  bar- 
ren ground.  In  fact,  for  the  next  three  years  he 
struggled  with  every  sort  of  rough  farm  labor 
that  a  boy  of  his  years  could  handle  and  had  little 
or  no  time  for  anything  else.  Then  something 
very  like  a  pestilence  swept  through  the  region 
and  his  mother,  weakened  by  toil  and  privation, 
was  numbered  among  the  many  victims  of  the 
deadly  scourge. 

Mrs.  Lincoln  had  never  had  either  the  time 
or  the  strength  to  do  much  more  than  touch  the 
imagination  of  her  son  and  give  an  impulse  to 
his  ambition.  But  short  as  her  life  was  there  is 
some  reason  for  believing  that  the  memory  of 

6 


A  WILDERNESS  FARM 

her  self-sacrifice  and  unremitting  work  was  at 
least  a  factor  in  influencing  his  character. 

No  clergyman  could  be  procured  to  read  the 
burial  service  and  the  widely  scattered  neighbors 
had  troubles  of  their  own,  so  Thomas  Lincoln 
and  his  children  buried  their  dead  in  the  bleak 
fields  near  their  desolate  cabin. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  imagine  a  more  cheer- 
less prospect  than  that  which  confronted  Lin- 
coln at  this  period  of  his  career.  It  was  not  only 
poverty,  sickness  and  death  that  aged  and  sad- 
dened the  motherless  ten-year-old  boy.  The 
desperate  loneliness  of  his  life,  its  crazing  monot- 
ony and  the  daily  struggle  for  existence  would 
have  been  bad  enough  had  the  future  held  some 
promise  of  relief.  But  there  was  no  light  in  the 
horizon  of  the  silent  wilderness.  Lincoln  was 
an  active,  healthy,  outdoors  boy  and  he  probably 
thought  no  more  about  the  future  than  other 
normal  children  do.  Nevertheless,  the  gloom  of 
his  surroundings  and  the  ceaseless  toil  of  his 
early  years  left  their  marks  on  his  face  and,  inevi- 
tably, predisposed  him  to  the  melancholic  tend- 
encies against  which  he  had  to  fight  all  the  rest 
of  his  life. 

7 


CHAPTER  III 

DAWNING  HOPES 
A  BOUT  a  year  after  Nancy  Hanks  Lincoln 
JL~\.  died,  her  husband  married  Mrs.  Sarah 
Bush  Johnson,  a  widow  with  two  children 
of  her  own.  From  that  moment  the  fortunes  of 
the  Lincoln  family  began  to  mend.  The  new- 
comer was  a  careful,  competent  and  orderly 
housekeeper  who  speedily  created  some  sort  of 
comfort  in  the  Gentryville  farm.  Moreover,  her 
children  provided  companionship  for  Lincoln 
and  his  sister,  and  the  stepmother  took  fully  as 
much  interest  in  her  adopted  family  as  she  did 
in  her  own.  Indeed,  young  Abraham  appealed 
to  her  from  the  very  start  and,  noting  the  dawn- 
ing possibilities  of  his  mind,  she  urged  his  father 
to  send  him  to  school.  It  was  not  easy  to  per- 
suade Thomas  Lincoln  to  give  his  son  this 
opportunity,  not  because  he  was  opposed  to  edu- 
cation, but  because  the  boy  had  become  a  very 
useful  farm  hand,  so  useful  indeed  that  he  could 
be  hired  out  to  other  farmers  who  needed  extra 

8 


DAWNING   HOPES 

help  in  their  fields.  Mrs.  Lincoln,  however,  man- 
aged to  have  him  relieved  from  such  drudgery 
on  several  occasions  for  a  few  weeks  at  a  time 
and,  though  his  entire  schooling  amounted  in 
all,  to  less  than  a  year,  he  unquestionably  made 
the  most  of  it.  This  does  not  mean  that  he  was 
a  brilliant  or  even  a  very  studious  youth.  All 
such  stories  are,  for  the  most  part,  nonsensical 
exaggerations.  As  he  approached  manhood  he 
developed  a  decided  taste  for  reading  but  at  no 
time  was  he  one  of  those  rare  scholars  who  assimi- 
late information  almost  at  a  glance.  On  the 
contrary,  his  mind  worked  very  slowly  and  what- 
ever he  learned  was  acquired  solely  by  hard  work. 
But  every  fact,  once  grasped,  was  retained. 
His  stepmother  quickly  noted  this  and  did  every- 
thing possible  to  encourage  him  to  keep  studying 
in  the  long  intervals  between  his  school  sessions. 
He  needed  no  urging  to  follow  her  advice,  and 
quite  early  in  his  teens  read  every  book  he  could 
lay  his  hands  on,  worked  out  sums  whenever  he 
could  secure  writing  materials,  and,  when  they 
were  unprocurable,  utilized  the  wooden  fire 
shovel  as  a  slate  and  the  poker  as  a  pencil. 

There  was  nothing  particularly  notable  in  the 

9 


LINCOLN 

list  of  books  which  Lincoln  read.  It  included 
only  such  volumes  as  were  ordinarily  found  in 
the  homes  of  more  or  less  educated  pioneers. 
Some  of  them  were  interesting  and  some  of  them 
dull,  but  they  were  all  new  to  Lincoln  and  he 
devoured  them  from  cover  to  cover,  at  the  noon 
rest  hour  in  the  fields,  before  the  kitchen  fire,  in 
bed,  and  whenever  he  could  snatch  a  moment's 
leisure.  It  is  even  said  that  he  sometimes  read 
while  following  the  plow,  but  whether  he  did 
or  not,  it  is  certainly  true  that  he  worked  three 
days  at  twenty-five  cents  a  day  for  a  farmer 
by  the  name  of  "Blue  Nose"  Crawford  to  com- 
pensate him  for  damage  accidentally  done  to  one 
of  the  books.  It  was  in  no  angelic  spirit  that 
young  Lincoln  met  this  claim.  He  knew  that 
the  old  man  had  exaggerated  the  damage  in  order 
to  get  something  for  nothing.  Nevertheless,  as 
the  injured  book  was  borrowed  property,  he  pre- 
ferred to  overpay  its  close-fisted  owner  rather 
than  owe  him  anything. 

Among  the  mass  of  rubbishy  anecdotes  relat- 
ing to  Lincoln's  early  years,  this  is  almost  the 
only  one  that  is  unquestionably  true.  In  the 
first  place,  it  is  characteristic;  and  in  the  second 

10 


DAWNING   HOPES 

place,  it  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  after  the 
debt  was  paid  he  ridiculed  the  stingy  farmer  in 
doggerel  verse  just  as  any  other  high-spirited  boy 
would  be  likely  to  do  under  similar  circumstances. 
Lincoln's  early  education  was,  however,  by  no 
means  derived  from  the  few  books  he  borrowed 
from  the  neighbors  and  his  occasional  attendance 
at  school.  He  probably  learned  almost  as  much 
by  listening  to  the  talk  at  Jones'  store,  which 
was  Gentryville's  forum,  information  bureau, 
political  headquarters  and  community  center. 
There  he  heard  soap-box  oratory  and  arguments 
galore;  kept  in  touch  with  all  the  local  gossip; 
read  whatever  newspapers  reached  the  village 
and  gained  inside  information  as  to  public  opin- 
ion on  men  and  events.  It  was  there  too  that  he 
kept  track  of  the  movements  of  the  circuit  riders 
who  were  even  then,  subconsciously,  formulating 
his  career. 


B 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE  BOONVILLE  COURT 
OONVILLE  was  not  the  most  important 


town  in  Indiana  and  it  was  fully  fifteen 
miles  from  Jones'  store,  but  the  inhabitants 
of  Gentryville  moved  there  en  masse  whenever 
the  circuit  riders  reached  it  on  their  rounds. 
Those  riders  consisted  of  the  itinerant  magistrate 
accompanied  by  a  cavalcade  of  lawyers  who  prac- 
ticed on  his  circuit.  Neither  the  judge  nor  his 
escort  were  very  imposing  or  learned  members 
of  their  profession;  nor  were  the  courthouses 
where  they  assembled  much  more  than  log  cabins. 
But  everything  that  transpired  within  their  walls 
supplied  the  surrounding  communities  with  top- 
ics of  conversation  for  many  a  month.  The  court 
was  practically  the  lecture  platform,  the  theater 
and  center  of  government  for  all  the  countryside 
and  provided  about  the  only  real  intellectual 
stimulant  which  reached  the  pioneers.  Its  ses- 
sions were  also  occasions  for  market  days  and  no 
able-bodied  resident  of  Gentryville  could  afford 
to  be  absent.    In  fact,  the  fields  were  abandoned 

12 


THE   BOONVILLE   COURT 

and  work  of  every  sort  suspended  during  the 
great  event.  Men,  women  and  children  jour- 
neyed to  the  seat  of  justice  on  foot,  on  horseback 
and  in  any  sort  of  vehicle,  whole  families  making 
the  trip  together,  either  camping  out  in  their 
wagons  or  picnicking  in  the  groves. 

It  would  have  been  surprising  if  Lincoln  had 
failed  to  take  advantage  of  the  opportunity  for 
enlarging  his  experience  which  the  Boonville 
Court  presented,  and  he  rarely  missed  a  session, 
sometimes  getting  a  lift  in  his  neighbors'  wagons, 
but  oftener  covering  the  entire  distance  on  foot. 

All  the  primitive  courthouses  of  Indiana  have 
long  since  disappeared  and  no  plans  or  sketches 
of  them  have  been  preserved.  But  very  complete 
descriptions  of  their  appearance  and  arrange- 
ments are  on  record,  and  it  is  quite  possible  to 
visualize  the  Boonville  tribunal  as  it  was  in  Lin- 
coln's youth.  Its  size  was  about  that  of  a  double 
log  cabin,  with  one  door  and  perhaps  two  win- 
dows. In  the  rear  of  the  main  room  there  was 
usually  erected  a  low  platform  made  of  rough 
planks  supporting  a  table  and  settle  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  the  judge  and  his  clerk.  Di- 
rectly in  front  of  this  judicial  throne  stood  a 

13 


LINCOLN 

rough,  unbacked  bench  reserved  for  members  of 
the  bar,  and  behind  it  a  long  pole  served  as  a 
railing  to  exclude  the  general  public,  which  occu- 
pied improvised  benches,  sat  on  the  floor,  stood 
in  the  doorway  and  perched  on  the  window  sills. 
In  the  matter  of  dress  there  was  nothing  to  dis- 
tinguish the  bench  and  the  bar  from  the  specta- 
tors. All  wore  fox  or  coon-skin  caps,  brown 
jeans  or  leather  breeches,  buckskin  shirts,  high 
boots  or  moccasins,  and  most  of  them  carried 
hunting  knives.  Few  of  the  young  people  wore 
either  shoes  or  stockings  and  their  elders  fre- 
quently went  unshod. 

The  court  proceedings  were,  to  say  the  least, 
quite  informal.  Jurors  were  selected  by  the 
sheriff  from  the  local  residents,  but  jury  duty 
was  apparently  no  more  popular  then  than  it  is 
to-day  and  it  was  sometimes  very  difficult  to  se- 
cure a  full  panel.  For  instance,  one  of  the  earliest 
accounts  of  the  backwoods  courts  of  Indiana  con- 
tains the  following  brief  but  vivid  description  of 
judicial  informality  and  the  methods  employed 
for  filling  the  jury  box: 

"As  I  entered  the  court  room,"  relates  an  eye- 
witness, "the  judge  was  sitting  on  a  block  paring 

14 


THE   BOONVILLE   COURT 

his  toe  nails  when  the  sheriff  entered  out  of  breath 
and  informed  the  court  that  he  had  six  jurors 
tied  up  and  his  deputies  were  running  down  the 
others." 

It  is  not  strange  that  juries  had  to  be  procured 
by  such  methods  in  a  region  where  almost  every 
man  had  a  personal  acquaintance  with  his  neigh- 
bors and  every  verdict  was  sure  to  offend  some- 
body. In  fact,  the  judge  was  frequently  as  shy 
as  the  jurors  about  arousing  local  enmities.  At 
the  close  of  one  of  the  more  famous  cases  tried 
in  the  primitive  courts  of  Illinois,  there  is  a  record 
of  a  judge  addressing  the  prisoner  as  follows : 

"Mr.  Green,  the  jury  in  their  verdict  say  that 
you  are  guilty  of  murder  and  the  law  says  you 
are  to  be  hung.  Now  I  want  you  and  all  your 
friends  down  on  Indian  Creek  to  know  that  it  is 
not  I  who  condemn  you  but  the  jury  and  the 
law." 

It  must  not  be  inferred  that  because  the  court 
and  its  jurors  took  no  unnecessary  risks  in  ad- 
ministering justice  that  they  were  afraid  to  per- 
form their  duties.  On  the  contrary,  they  fulfilled 
them  quite  fearlessly.  For  instance,  in  one  case 
where  a  white  man  was  charged  with  killing  an 

15 


LINCOLN 

Indian  he  was  promptly  convicted,  despite  the 
deep-rooted  prejudice  among  all  the  settlers 
against  the  savages;  and  in  another  case  when  a 
just  verdict,  entailing  a  well-deserved  flogging, 
was  appealed  from  on  technical  grounds,  the 
court  had  the  sentence  carried  out  and  then 
calmly  announced  that  it  was  ready  to  listen  to 
arguments  for  a  new  trial ! 

Moreover,  order  was  maintained  in  those  crude 
court  rooms  without  fear  or  favor.  On  one  occa- 
sion, according  to  the  records,  the  presiding  jus- 
tice quelled  a  disturbance  by  jumping  down  from 
his  platform  and  thrashing  the  offender  with  no 
loss  of  dignity  and  a  considerable  gain  in  prestige. 

"I  don't  know  what  power  the  law  gives  me  to 
maintain  order  in  this  court,"  he  observed  as  he 
reascended  the  bench,  "but  I  know  verv  well  the 
power  God  Almighty  gave  me." 

Young  Lincoln,  peering  through  the  windows 
of  the  cabin  court  room  or  crouching  on  its  floor, 
missed  nothing  that  transpired  within  its  walls. 
The  give-and-take  between  the  witnesses  and  the 
lawyers,  the  arguments  of  the  bench  and  bar,  the 
crude  oratory  of  the  backwoods  advocates,  and 
the  intense  excitement  of  the  spectators  thrilled 

16 


THE   BOONVILLE   COURT 

him  to  the  core.  For  the  first  time  the  drama  of 
life — comic,  pathetic  and  tragic — rolled  before 
him,  firing  his  imagination  and  giving  him  an 
insight  into  human  nature  and  human  motives 
which  he  could  not  have  otherwise  acquired,  ex- 
cept by  hard  and  bitter  experience.  Perhaps, 
even  then,  he  mentally  matched  himself  against 
the  circuit  riders  and  dimly  formulated  the  great 
ambition  of  his  life.  It  is  not  necessary  to  imagine 
what  his  thoughts  were  at  that  period.  He  has 
left  a  record  of  them. 

During  one  of  its  sessions  he  witnessed  a  mur- 
der trial  in  the  Boonville  Court.  The  prisoner 
was  represented  by  a  lawyer  named  Brecken- 
ridge — probably  one  of  the  family  of  jurists  that 
later  made  their  name  famous  in  Kentucky. 
Breckinridge  summed  up  so  powerfully  for  his 
client  that  Lincoln  sought  out  the  advocate  after 
the  verdict  and  wrung  his  hand. 

"I  felt,"  he  told  the  old  lawyer  in  the  White 
House  many  years  later,  "that  if  I  could  ever 
make  as  good  a  speech  as  that  my  soul  would  be 
satisfied." 

Unquestionably,  from  that  moment  Lincoln 
dedicated  himself,  unalterably,  to  the  law. 

17 


CHAPTER  V 

EARNING  A  LIVING 

IT  was  not  difficult  to  become  a  lawyer  in  In- 
diana. No  examinations  of  any  kind  were 
required  and  the  only  qualification  was  that 
the  applicant  should  be  a  man  of  good  character. 
In  fact,  until  within  comparatively  recent  years 
there  was,  in  this  respect,  no  change  in  the  law  of 
that  state.  But  for  several  reasons  Lincoln  could 
not  take  advantage  of  the  situation.  In  the  first 
place,  he  was  not  of  age ;  and  in  the  second  place, 
it  was  much  easier  to  be  admitted  to  the  profes- 
sion than  to  earn  a  living  by  practicing  it.  More- 
over, in  1830,  his  father  again  decided  to  seek 
better  land  and  moved  his  whole  family  to  a  farm 
near  Decatur,  Illinois. 

Lincoln  was  then  in  his  twenty-first  year,  but 
had  not  quite  reached  his  majority.  He  there- 
fore felt  bound  to  help  in  transferring  his  family 
and  their  belongings  to  Illinois  and  do  what  he 
could  to  establish  them  in  their  new  home.  The 
journey  was  made  in  an  ox  cart  which  was  par- 

18 


EARNING   A   LIVING 

tially  loaded  with  a  stock  of  "notions"  which  Lin- 
coln had  bought  for  a  trifle  and  peddled  to  good 
advantage  throughout  the  trip.  Then  came  the 
building  of  another  homestead  and  the  fencing 
of  the  farm  lands — tasks  that  required  several 
months  of  hard  labor — but  by  the  time  they  were 
completed  he  felt  free  to  shift  for  himself. 

The  quickest  way  to  earn  money  was  to  hire 
himself  out  to  the  nearest  farmers  who  were 
anxious  to  obtain  his  services,  for  he  was  a  big, 
husky  lad,  nearly  six  feet  four,  possessing  enor- 
mous strength,  and  had  demonstrated,  during  his 
short  residence  in  Decatur,  that  he  could  ply 
about  as  useful  an  ax  as  any  one  in  the  vicinity. 
Lincoln  did  not  enjoy  manual  labor  and  was  by 
no  means  one  of  those  who  love  work  for  work's 
sake.  In  fact,  he  could,  and  occasionally  did, 
"laze"  through  a  job  as  well  as  any  one  else,  but 
he  always  gave  his  employers  a  bit  more  than 
their  money's  worth.  They  certainly  never  over- 
paid him,  for  one  of  his  first  jobs  was  to  split 
fence  rails  at  the  rate  of  four  hundred  rails  for 
each  yard  of  dyed  brown  jeans  required  to  pro- 
vide him  with  a  decent  pair  of  trousers.  In  fact, 
rail  splitting  was  the  work  at  which  he  excelled 

19 


LINCOLN 

during  the  first  months  of  his  independence,  and 
he  soon  got  enough  of  that  back-breaking  exer- 
cise to  last  him  all  the  rest  of  his  life,  although  it 
was  destined  to  aid  in  popularizing  him  as  per- 
haps nothing  else  did. 

At  the  age  of  about  seventeen  he  had  acted  for 
a  time  as  a  ferryman  on  Anderson's  Creek  near 
Gentry ville,  Indiana,  an  easy,  lazy  sort  of  job 
which  gave  him  lots  of  leisure  for  reading,  though 
not  as  much  as  he  wanted.  So  when  he  met  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Denton  Offut  in  New  Salem 
who  asked  him  to  help  in  the  building  of  a  flat- 
bottom  boat  and  serve  as  one  of  the  crew  to  take 
her  to  New  Orleans,  he  gladly  accepted.  It  was 
not  the  chance  of  seeing  New  Orleans  that  at- 
tracted him,  for  he  had  been  there  several  times 
during  his  teens,  "working  the  front  oars"  of  a 
small  boat  carrying  produce  from  Gentryville. 
But  constructing  a  big  barge  was  new  and  inter- 
esting work  and  handling  it  down  the  Mississippi 
promised  something  in  the  line  of  an  adventure. 
The  promise  was  more  than  fulfilled,  for  two  of 
the  boat  builders  were  nearly  drowned  and  were 
saved  by  Lincoln  after  a  third  man  almost  lost 
his  life  in  attempting  to  rescue  them.   That  little 

20 


EARNING   A   LIVING 

episode  demonstrated  that  he  could  keep  cool  and 
act  quickly  in  an  emergency,  and  those  qualities 
were  soon  subjected  to  another  test,  when  the 
boat  stranded  on  a  Mississippi  shoal  so  close  to  a 
dam  that  its  bow  hung  over  the  edge  and  the 
cargo  shifted.  But  Lincoln  and  his  companion 
did  not  lose  their  heads.  They  calmly  transferred 
the  merchandise  to  another  boat,  righted  their 
own,  reloaded  it  and  proceeded  safely  to  their 
destination. 

This  venture  into  the  world  was  important  to 
Lincoln  because  it  required  him  to  stop  for  a 
month  in  New  Orleans,  giving  him  ample  oppor- 
tunity to  see  what  was  perhaps  the  worst  phase 
of  slavery.  He  had  had  an  earlier  glimpse  of  it 
on  his  trips  from  Gentry ville,  but  on  this  occa- 
sion he  watched  the  operation  of  a  slave  market 
where  the  negroes  were  handled  by  the  slave 
traders  with  more  brutality  than  even  the  most 
callous  herder  would  have  dared  to  employ  with 
cattle. 

Lincoln's  face  is  said  to  have  darkened  with 
anger  and,  turning  slowly  to  his  companion,  he 
muttered,  "If  ever  I  get  a  chance  to  hit  that  thing 
—I'll  hit  it  and  hit  it  hard!" 

21 


LINCOLN 

There  is  reason  to  doubt  if  Lincoln  used  ex- 
actly those  words,  although  they  are  repeated 
with  more  or  less  authority  in  numerous  histories 
and  biographies.  But  whether  he  uttered  them 
or  not,  it  is  certain  that  they  fairly  express  what 
must  have  passed  through  his  mind  as  he  watched 
the  most  degrading  spectacle  that  ever  shamed 
"the  land  of  the  free." 

Almost  no  Virginians  and  comparatively  few 
Southerners  saw  or  knew  anything  of  the  slave 
market.  A  very  large  percentage  of  them  rarely 
sold  their  slaves  except  as  a  punishment  for 
criminal  offenses,  and  slave  traders  were  gen- 
erally regarded  with  disgust  throughout  the 
South.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  the  most  representa- 
tive men  from  the  Southern  states  would  have 
been  as  shocked  and  as  indignant  as  Lincoln,  had 
they  witnessed  the  vile  traffic  that  he  studied  in 
the  spring  of  1831. 


CHAPTER  VI 

"A  SORT  OF  CLERK" 

ON  his  return  from  New  Orleans  Lincoln 
became  what  he  afterwards  described  as 
"a  sort  of  clerk"  for  Offut.  His  employer 
intended  to  operate  a  grocery  store  and  a  mill, 
but  at  the  time  neither  was  built  and  there  was  no 
stock  of  goods  on  hand.  Even  when  the  store 
was  eventually  erected  and  the  merchandise  ar- 
rived, there  were  very  few  customers.  Those  who 
patronized  it,  however,  were  loud  in  their 
praises  of  the  long-legged  clerk.  One  of  his  ad- 
mirers widely  advertised  the  fact  that  he  had 
taken  a  lot  of  trouble  to  rectify  a  trifling  shortage 
due  to  an  accidental  error  in  the  scales,  and  an- 
other told  every  one  who  would  listen  that  Offut's 
clerk  had  walked  three  miles  to  return  six  cents 
given  him  by  mistake.  These  and  similar  tales  are 
said  to  have  won  him  the  nickname  "Honest 
Abe,"  but  it  is  highly  probable  that  it  was  the 
Clary's  Grove  gang  of  boys  that  so  christened 
him. 

23 


LINCOLN 

Clary's  Grove  boasted  about  as  tough  a  group 
of  young  men  as  were  to  be  found  anywhere  in 
Sangamon  County,  and  their  idol,  if  not  their 
leader,  was  one  Jack  Armstrong,  whose  major 
sport  was  wrestling.    Lincoln  had  some  reputa- 
tion along  that  line  and  Clary's  Grove  could 
brook  no  rival.  Armstrong  was  therefore  urged 
to  put  Lincoln  on  his  back  at  the  earliest  possible 
moment,  and  the  champion  lost  no  time  in  calling 
on  the  upstart  from  Indiana  to  receive  a  rough 
wrestling  lesson  in  the   presence  of  his   peers. 
But  when  Armstrong  came  to  grips  with  his  in- 
tended victim  he  realized  that  his  hour  had  come. 
Wrestling  in  those  days  was  neither  a  science  nor 
a  sport,  and  anything  but  child's  play.     There 
were  no  rules  and  the  main  object  of  the  oppo- 
nents was  to  injure  one  another  in  every  possible 
way  by  fair  means  or  foul.     It  was  altogether 
quite  a  fearsome  sort  of  combat.    Yet  to  Arm- 
strong's   amazement    when     the     six-foot-four 
Lincoln,  weighing  two  hundred  and   fourteen 
pounds,  held  him  in  a  deadly  grip  and  virtually 
had  him  at  his  mercy,  he  refrained  from  resorting 
to  "dirty  work"  of  any  kind.    Neither  man  threw 
the  other  and  the  match  was  declared  a  draw,  but 

24 


"a  sort  of  clerk" 

there  was  no  doubt  as  to  whom  the  mastery  be- 
longed. And  this  was  soon  acknowledged  in 
unmistakable  fashion,  for  at  its  very  next  session 
Lincoln  found  himself  the  captain  of  the 
Clary's  Grove  gang  and  long  remained  its 
leader.  At  cock  fights,  races,  wrestling  bouts 
and  all  sorts  of  sports  he  was  thenceforth  the  ac- 
cepted umpire  whose  word  was  law.  There  was 
no  nonsense  or  sentimentality  about  the  Clary's 
Grove  crowd.  They  were  not  the  sort  of  boys 
who  would  be  greatly  impressed  by  conscientious 
scruples  about  grocery  scales  or  correct  change. 
But  they  respected  Lincoln's  strength,  found  him 
fair  and  square  and  learned  something  about  his 
way  of  "playing  the  game"  that  appealed  to  their 
imagination.  Nicknames  usually  originate  with 
boys,  and  "Honest  Abe"  is  probably  no  exception 
to  the  rule. 

It  was  not  only  with  his  own  crowd  that  Lin- 
coln became  popular.  The  neighbors  liked  him 
because  he  always  stood  ready  to  lend  a  hand 
when  they  needed  help  and  usually  offered  his 
assistance  before  it  was  asked.  Nor  did  he  care 
what  sort  of  a  job  was  in  demand.  He  was  game 
for  anything  from  "roofing  a  barn  to  rocking  a 

25 


LINCOLN 

baby,"  and  could  be  trusted  to  finish  any  task  he 
undertook.  The  grocery-store  crowd  liked  him 
because  he  was  amusing  company,  could  tell  the 
sort  of  story  they  enjoyed,  using  any  word  "that 
wit  could  disinfect,"  knew  how  to  make  a  stump 
speech  that  "talked  down"  visiting  orators,  and 
never  hesitated  to  throw  objectionable  strangers 
out  the  door  when  actions  rather  than  words  were 
needed  to  uphold  the  village  sense  of  decency. 
But  perhaps,  most  of  all,  they  liked  his  modesty. 
He  never  boasted,  listened  and  talked  well, 
seldom  contradicted  any  one  and  knew  how  to 
ridicule  those  who  took  themselves  too  seriously. 

Shortly  after  he  first  arrived  in  the  village 
a  local  election  board  required  the  services  of  an 
assistant  clerk.  "Can  you  write?"  inquired  the 
schoolmaster,  seeing  Lincoln  among  the  group  at 
the  polling  booth.  "Well,"  he  drawled,  "I  can 
make  a  few  rabbit  tracks." 

The  records  of  that  election  were  recorded  in 
his  "rabbit  tracks"  and  they  appeared  in  those  of 
many  another  in  the  years  that  followed. 


CHAPTER  VII 

A  CANDIDATE  FOR  THE  ASSEMBLY 

PERHAPS  it  was  his  appointment  as  an 
election  officer  that  first  turned  Lincoln's 
thoughts  towards  politics,  though  it  is  more 
probable  that  some  of  his  friends  and  admirers 
in  the  Clary's  Grove  gang  put  the  notion  of 
running  for  office  into  his  head.  At  all  events,  he 
announced  himself  as  a  Whig  candidate  for  the 
Assembly  in  March,  1832.  In  those  days  any 
one  who  wanted  to  enter  a  contest  for  office  could 
do  so  simply  by  announcing  his  candidacy 
and  outlining  to  the  voters  the  policies  which 
he  advocated.  On  this  particular  occasion  there 
was  no  real  issue  between  the  Whigs  and  the 
Democrats,  but  local  pride  was  looking  for  a 
champion  to  uphold  its  claim  that  the  Sangamon 
River  was  or  could  be  made  a  navigable  stream, 
which,  if  demonstrated,  would  boom  the  whole 
neighborhood.  Lincoln  eagerly  espoused  this 
cause  and  prepared  a  long  and  careful  argument 
to  prove  that  the  river  could,  at  very  little  cost,  be 

27 


LINCOLN 

made  an  important  highway  of  commerce.  There 
were  grounds  to  support  this  hope  and  a  steamer 
called  the  Talisman  was  actually  launched  on  the 
stream  and  safely  piloted  by  Lincoln  himself 
through  its  dangerous  shallows.  In  later  years, 
however,  the  scheme  for  enlarging  the  channel 
proved  impractical  and  Lincoln's  argument  is  of 
no  particular  interest,  except  that  it  plainly  in- 
dicates that  he  had  the  faculty  of  presenting 
facts  clearly  without  overstating  them,  and  mak- 
ing a  logical  and  convincing  argument.  This 
was  no  small  achievement  for  a  young  man  of 
twenty-three  who  had  little  or  no  educational  ad- 
vantages and  was  a  comparative  stranger  in  the 
community  whose  interests  he  championed. 

Possibly  he  might  have  improved  on  his  first 
and  only  brief  for  the  dredging  of  the  Sangamon 
River,  but  he  never  had  a  chance  to  revise  it,  for 
his  campaign  had  scarcely  begun  before  it  was 
interrupted  by  the  outbreak  of  what  afterwards 
became  known  as  "the  Black  Hawk  War." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  BLACK  HAWK  WAR 
A  NY  Indian  uprising  was  quite  sufficient  to 
jfX  arouse  the  frontier,  but  when  the  formi- 
dable Black  Hawk  tribe  took  to  the  war- 
path the  authorities  became  so  alarmed  that  the 
Governor  of  Illinois  immediately  issued  a  gen- 
eral call  to  arms.  Under  the  existing  law  all  men 
between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  forty-five  were 
liable  for  military  service  and  were  required  to 
drill  once  a  year  or  pay  a  fine  of  one  dollar.  But 
very  few  fines  were  collected  as  practically  every 
one  drilled.  The  training,  however,  must  have 
been  worse  than  useless,  for  it  would  be  difficult 
to  imagine  more  unsoldierly  recruits  than  the 
sixteen  hundred  men  that  assembled  at  Beards- 
town  in  response  to  the  governor's  proclamation. 
They  were,  for  the  most  part,  farm  hands,  back- 
woodsmen, hunters  and  trappers,  dressed  in  buck- 
skins and  brown  jeans,  shod  in  rawhides  or  moc- 
casins, armed  with  flint-lock  rifles  or  knives,  and 
carrying  powder  horns  slung  over  their  shoulders. 

29 


LINCOLN 

The  company  from  Sangamon  County  was, 
perhaps,  the  toughest  of  that  undisciplined  mob 
and  it  promptly  elected  Lincoln  as  its  captain, 
not  because  of  his  military  knowledge,  but  be- 
cause the  Clary's  Grove  gang  was  well  repre- 
sented, or  maybe  because  he  was  the  most  con- 
spicuous man  in  the  crowd  by  reason  of  his 
height. 

The  pioneers  had  only  themselves  to  blame  for 
Black  Hawk  against  whose  people  they  had 
practiced  the  grossest  treachery.  But  once 
the  redskins  donned  their  war  paint  there  was 
nothing  to  be  done  but  meet  them  before  they 
reached  the  settlements.  The  state  government 
in  no  way  underestimated  the  gravity  of  the  situ- 
ation, but  the  militia  started  out  in  a  holiday 
spirit.  They  apparently  had  a  high  contempt  for 
the  enemy  and  those  who  had  never  seen  an  In- 
dian were  the  loudest  pot-valiants.  Lincoln's 
company  was  no  exception  to  the  rule,  and  their 
captain  was  as  ignorant  of  military  discipline  as 
his  men.  In  fact,  before  the  march  started  he 
had  been  reprimanded  for  firing  his  gun  within 
the  camp  limits  and  is  said  to  have  been  otherwise 
penalized  because  of  the  drunkenness  of  his  com- 

30 


THE   BLACK   HAWK   WAR 

mand.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  he  was  powerless  to 
control  their  conduct,  for  the  men  did  not  pay 
the  slightest  attention  to  his  orders  and  regarded 
him  merely  as  one  of  their  gang.  Bad  as  this  was 
during  the  encampment,  it  became  worse  when 
"the  army"  started  on  its  march.  Even  when 
they  approached  within  striking  distance  of  the 
enemy  the  men  continued  to  whistle,  sing  and  yell 
to  one  another,  inviting  ambush  at  every  step, 
straggling  as  they  pleased  and  skylarking  at  will. 
Lincoln  had  no  idea  of  military  formations  or 
orders,  but,  if  he  had  known  how  to  give  the  com- 
mands, his  men  would  not  have  understood  them. 
When  they  reached  a  fence  he  simply  told  them 
to  "fall  out  on  this  side  and  fall  in  on  the  other," 
which  is  probably  what  they  would  have  done 
anyway.  Once,  however,  he  did  enforce  his  au- 
thority, for  an  Indian  messenger  bearing  a  pass 
fell  into  the  hands  of  his  company  who  were  bent 
on  shooting  him,  pass  or  no  pass.  To  order  his 
release  would  not  have  saved  him  but  when  Lin- 
coln took  the  prisoner  under  his  personal  pro- 
tection, no  one  ventured  to  interfere.  Possibly 
this  episode,  combined  with  good-natured  com- 
radeship, gave  him  a  little  more  control  of  his 

31 


LINCOLN 

men,  but,  in  any  event,  the  disastrous  fate  of  the 
advance  guard  soon  sobered  them.  That  body,  as 
noisy,  undisciplined  and  poorly  officered  as  the 
others,  were  suddenly  confronted  by  Black 
Hawk's  braves  and  those  who  survived  the  attack 
scampered  from  the  scene  of  action  as  fast  as 
their  legs  could  carry  them. 

This  was  enough  for  the  state  authorities  and, 
acting  on  the  advice  of  the  regular  army  officers 
whose  troops  were  cooperating,  the  whole  force 
was  mustered  out  of  service  and  dismissed  to 
their  homes.  Lincoln,  however,  had  no  intention 
of  accepting  such  a  dishonorable  discharge.  He 
immediately  enrolled  as  a  private  in  a  company 
of  mounted  rangers,  into  which  he  was  mustered 
by  Captain  Robert  Anderson  of  the  United 
States  Army. 

Had  any  one  prophesied  to  Captain  Anderson 
that  the  raw-boned,  long-legged  cavalry  scout 
that  he  inducted  into  the  military  service  would 
some  day  be  his  chief  in  one  of  the  greatest  wars 
of  the  world,  he  probably  would  have  been  highly 
amused.    But  not  more  so  than  Lincoln. 


CHAPTER  IX 

ANOTHER  CAMPAIGN 

WITHIN  sixty  days  after  Lincoln  joined 
the  rangers,  Black  Hawk  was  captured 
and  his  band  dispersed.  It  had  been  a  miserable 
little  war  provoked  by  the  settlers  and  wholly  dis- 
creditable to  them.  In  fact,  the  only  notable 
thing  about  it  was  the  number  of  distinguished 
men  who  were  directly  or  indirectly  concerned  in 
it.  Among  them  were  Zachary  Taylor,  the  future 
President  of  the  United  States ;  General  Winfield 
Scott,  destined  to  become  Chief  of  the  United 
States  Army;  William  Hamilton,  a  son  of  Alex- 
ander Hamilton;  Jefferson  Davis,  the  future 
President  of  the  Confederacy,  then  a  lieutenant 
in  the  United  States  Army ;  Nathan  Boone,  a  son 
of  Daniel  Boone;  Albert  Sidney  Johnson,  who 
was  to  win  fame  as  one  of  the  ablest  generals  of 
the  Confederacy;  and  many  another  with  whom 
Lincoln  was  to  be  brought  in  contact  during  the 
coming  years. 

It  was  in  no  martial  mood  that  Lincoln  re- 

33 


LINCOLN 

turned  to  Sangamon  County,  trudging  most  of 
the  way  on  foot  and  arriving  late  in  the  summer 
of  his  twenty-fourth  year,  tattered,  weary  and 
hungry,  to  continue  his  campaign  for  the  Assem- 
bly. Probably  it  never  occurred  to  him  to  appeal 
to  the  voters  as  a  home-coming  soldier.  The  war, 
to  his  mind,  had  been  nothing  but  a  sorry  farce 
and  he  always  treated  it  as  such.  A  few  years 
later,  when  some  one  sought  to  promote  General 
Cass's  interests  by  quoting  his  not  too  brilliant 
army  record  in  the  War  of  1812,  Lincoln  ridi- 
culed the  effort  by  referring  in  Congress  to  his 
own  military  career. 

Mr.  Speaker  [he  began  with  great  gravity], 
did  you  know  that  I  was  a  military  hero?  Yes, 
sir.  In  the  Black  Hawk  War  I  fought  and  bled 
and  came  away.  ...  I  was  not  at  Stillman's  de- 
feat [the  advance  guard  disaster],  but  I  was 
about  as  near  to  it  as  Cass  was  to  Hull's  surren- 
der and,  like  him,  I  saw  the  place  very  soon  after- 
wards. It  is  quite  certain  that  I  did  not  break  my 
sword,  for  I  had  none  to  break;  but  I  bent  my 
musket  pretty  badly  on  one  occasion.  If  Cass 
broke  his  sword  the  idea  is  that  he  broke  it  in 
desperation;  I  bent  the  musket  by  accident.  If 
General  Cass  went  ahead  of  me  in  picking  huckle- 

34 


ANOTHER  CAMPAIGN 

berries  I  guess  I  surpassed  him  in  charges  upon 
the  wild  onions.  If  he  saw  any  live,  fighting  In- 
dians it  was  more  than  I  did,  but  I  had  a  good 
many  bloody  struggles  with  the  mosquitoes,  and, 
although  I  never  fainted  from  loss  of  blood,  I  was 
often  very  hungry.  Mr.  Speaker,  ...  if  our 
Democratic  friends  .  .  .  take  me  up  as  their  can- 
didate for  the  Presidency,  I  protest  they  shall  not 
make  fun  of  me  as  they  have  General  Cass  by 
attempting  to  write  me  into  a  military  hero. 

Only  a  few  days  after  he  arrived  at  his  home 
town,  the  election  took  place  when,  for  the  first 
and  only  time  in  his  career,  Lincoln  was  defeated 
by  popular  vote.  However,  of  New  Salem's  208 
ballots  he  received  205. 

But  although  not  elected  to  the  Assembly,  he 
had  won  a  number  of  good  friends  in  the  brief 
campaign,  among  the  most  important  of  whom 
was  Major  John  T.  Stuart,  a  Springfield  lawyer 
who  had  himself  recently  returned  from  the 
Black  Hawk  fiasco.  Stuart  encouraged  him  to 
study  law,  loaned  him  books  and  gave  him  the  run 
of  his  office. 

In  November,  1832,  Lincoln  signed  his  first 
official  document.  It  was  a  report  as  chief  clerk 
of  the  fall  elections. 

35 


E 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  STOREKEEPER 
INCOLN  did  not  forget  Major  Stuart's  ad- 


vice about  studying  law,  but  it  was  neces- 
sary for  him  to  earn  a  living  at  once  and 
when  an  opportunity  to  go  into  the  grocery  busi- 
ness with  William  Berry  occurred  he  immedi- 
ately grasped  it.  On  its  face  the  venture 
was  absurd.  Neither  man  had  any  money,  but 
that  did  not  disturb  them  for  in  those  days  almost 
everything  was  bought  and  paid  for  with  promis- 
sory notes.  Nor  did  the  fact  that  there  were  too 
many  groceries  in  New  Salem  appall  them.  That 
difficulty  was  readily  met  by  the  simple  process 
of  purchasing  three  of  the  rival  establishments 
with  notes  and  combining  them  under  the  firm 
name  of  Berry  &  Lincoln.  The  only  cash  trans- 
action the  junior  partner  negotiated  was  the 
purchase  of  an  old  barrel  from  a  peddler,  for 
which  he  paid  a  dollar.  But  it  proved  to  be  the 
greatest  bargain  of  his  life,  for  in  it  he  found  a 
copy   of   Blackstone's   Commentaries — the   law 

36 


THE   STOREKEEPER 

classic  upon  which  the  education  of  many 
famous  jurists  has  been  based.  From  that 
moment  the  grocery  business  was  forgotten  ex- 
cept at  meal  hours.  In  fact,  Berry  &  Lincoln 
were  their  own  best  customers,  the  former  drink- 
ing and  the  latter  eating  up  their  stock  in  trade. 
The  junior  partner  was  generally  on  hand  when 
customers  called,  but  they  usually  found  him 
sprawled  out  on  the  counter  reading  law  and 
not  anxious  to  be  disturbed.  Sometimes,  how- 
ever, it  was  the  poems  of  Burns  or  Shakespeare's 
plays  which  were  absorbing  his  attention.  But 
neither  literature  nor  law  was  good  for  the  gro- 
cery business,  which  slowly  but  surely  began  to 
"wink  out." 

Then  a  bit  of  luck  came  Lincoln's  way, 
for  he  was  appointed  postmaster  of  the  vil- 
lage, which  brought  him  in  a  little  money.  The 
duties  of  this  office  were  not  very  heavy.  In  fact, 
the  postmaster  had  to  be  his  own  letter  carrier, 
and  the  mail  pouch  was  his  hat.  Meanwhile  it 
was  necessary  to  eat,  and  the  stock  of  groceries 
had  become  exhausted.  Lincoln  therefore 
worked  at  times  in  the  local  mill  and  at  times  as  a 

37 


LINCOLN 

laborer  for  the  farmers  who  did  not  appreciate 
his  services  too  highly,  for  he  made  stump 
speeches  to  the  other  men  which  interested  and 
amused  them  far  more  than  their  work. 

At  last,  however,  a  suggestion  came  to  him 
that  sounded  like  the  sort  of  job  he  wanted.  John 
Calhoun,  the  county  surveyor,  finding  himself  in 
need  of  an  assistant,  offered  Lincoln  the  post  if 
he  would  study  surveying.  For  a  moment  he 
hesitated  to  take  it,  fearing  that  Calhoun,  a  prom- 
inent Democrat,  would  require  his  political  al- 
legiance. But  being  reassured  on  this  point,  he 
abandoned  his  law  books  and  with  the  aid  of  the 
local  schoolmaster  set  to  work  on  surveying,  the 
rudiments  of  which  he  acquired  in  six  weeks. 
This  was  all  the  training  he  had  when  he  joined 
his  chief  in  the  field.  It  was  not,  however,  until 
about  a  year  later  that  he  made  his  first  inde- 
pendent survey  dated  January  14,  1834,  within 
a  month  of  his  twenty-fifth  birthday. 

Meanwhile  the  grocery  store  had  been  forgot- 
ten by  every  one  except  the  holders  of  Berry  & 
Lincoln  notes  who  had  bought  them  for  a  song, 
and  when  Berry  died  they  demanded  full  pay- 

38 


THE   STOREKEEPER 

ment  from  Lincoln.  Of  course,  Berry  left  no 
property  and  his  surviving  partner  had  no  assets 
except  his  surveying  instruments  and  a  horse  and 
saddle  bought  with  the  savings  from  his  official 
fees.  Those  were  promptly  seized  and  sold  by 
the  creditors,  and  as  promptly  bought  in  by  Mr. 
John  Short,  one  of  Lincoln's  staunchest  friends, 
who  loaned  them  to  him  and  enabled  him  to  con- 
tinue at  his  work. 

Local  public  opinion  would  have  supported 
Lincoln  had  he  repudiated  the  claims  against 
him.  Morally  he  was  liable  for  only  half  of  the 
notes  and  the  speculators  who  owned  them  had 
probably  bought  them  for  a  song  without  expect- 
ing to  collect  more  than  a  small  fraction  of  their 
face  value.  Most  men,  under  such  circumstances, 
would  have  bargained  with  the  Shylocks  and 
obtained  a  release  at  the  cheapest  possible  price. 
But  not  one  of  Lincoln's  character.  He  had 
signed  his  name  to  a  promise  to  pay  a  definite 
sum  of  money,  and  pay  it  he  would,  cost  what  it 
might.  And  pay  it  he  did,  though  it  required 
nearly  fifteen  years  of  hard  work  and  strict  econ- 
omy to  cancel  what  he  jokingly  called  "his  na- 
tional debt." 

39 


LINCOLN 

During  1834  his  only  income  was  his  salary 
as  postmaster  and  the  three  dollars  a  day  paid 
him  as  deputy  surveyor  of  the  county,  in  which 
capacity  his  record  was  exceedingly  good,  for 
none  of  his  surveys  were  ever  found  inaccu- 
rate. 

Meanwhile  another  election  for  the  State  As- 
sembly was  approaching  and  he  again  announced 
himself  as  a  candidate.  This  time  nothing  inter- 
fered with  his  campaign  and  he  devoted  every 
possible  moment  to  canvassing  the  electors, 
speaking  at  all  available  meeting  places,  making 
the  personal  acquaintance  of  the  voters,  giving 
exhibitions  of  his  strength  at  market  assemblies, 
going  into  grain-cutting  exhibitions  and  taking 
on  all  comers  at  rough-and-tumble  wrestling. 
Such  performances  may  seem  a  bit  crude  and  un- 
dignified, but  they  were  quite  in  accordance  with 
the  usual  practice  in  those  days  when  no  vital 
political  issues  were  at  stake  and  candidates  for 
local  office  were  bound  to  prove  themselves  good 
mixers  and  virile  men.  Lincoln  worked  hard  to 
be  elected  and  expected  to  win,  but  the  result 
when  the  ballots  were  counted  in  August,  1834, 

40 


THE   STOREKEEPER 


surprised  him,  for  he  obtained  208  out  of  the  211 
votes  cast  in  New  Salem,  and  his  total  in  the 
entire  district  surpassed  that  of  any  other  suc- 
cessful candidate  with  one  exception. 


CHAPTER  XI 

LAW  STUDENT  AND  LEGISLATOR 

HIS  election  to  the  Assembly  revived  Lin- 
coln's ambition  for  a  legal  career.  Dur- 
ing the  preceding  year  or  so  he  had  read  the 
books  Major  Stuart  had  recommended,  familiar- 
izing himself  with  the  simpler  forms  of  contracts, 
deeds  and  wills,  and  even  drawn  papers  now 
and  then  for  friendly  neighbors.  In  fact,  one  of 
them  in  after  years  recalled  that  Lincoln  once 
paused  while  working  as  a  laborer  in  a  field  to 
draft  a  deed  for  him  on  a  shingle. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  he  is  said  to  have 
"done  a  little  pettifogging"  before  Squire  Bowl- 
ing Green,  the  local  justice  of  the  peace  at  New 
Salem.  Bowling  Green  was  a  rough  and  ready 
administrator  of  the  law  who  had  his  own  notions 
of  how  cases  should  be  conducted,  and  relied  far 
more  on  his  personal  acquaintance  with  the  par- 
ties who  appeared  in  his  court  than  the  testimony 
they  gave.  In  one  case,  concerning  the  disputed 
ownership  of  a  hog,  he  is  reported  to  have  heard 

42 


LAW   STUDENT   AND   LEGISLATOR 

the  witnesses  on  both  sides  and  then  recorded  his 
opinion  that  "the  plaintiff's  witnesses  were 
damned  liars,  the  court  being  well  acquainted 
with  the  shoat  in  question  and  knowing  it  to  be- 
long to  Jack  Kelso." 

Of  course,  the  business  handled  by  such  a  court 
was  of  trifling  importance,  but  it  included  almost 
everything  from  petty  crimes  to  cow  cases,  and 
doubtless  Lincoln  obtained  his  first  experience  as 
an  advocate  by  appearing  for  litigants  before  its 
eccentric  magistrate  who,  with  other  New  Salem- 
ites,  has  passed  into  the  pages  of  history  solely 
because,  at  one  time  or  another,  he  had  some 
slight  association  with  the  future  President. 

Many  famous  men  have  suffered  from  mis- 
guided efforts  on  the  part  of  their  admirers  to 
make  them  appear  as  heroes  rather  than  human 
beings.  Lincoln  has  frequently  been  misrepre- 
sented in  this  way.  For  instance,  it  has  been  said 
that  he  was  so  generous  that  he  went  about  doing 
good  to  the  New  Salemites  by  giving  them  the 
benefit  of  his  legal  services  free  of  charge. 
Doubtless  he  acted  gratuitously,  but  it  is  absurd 
to  assert  that  he  did  so  from  lofty  motives.  He 
was,  at  best,  merely  a  law  student,  not  yet  ad- 

43 


LINCOLN 

mitted  to  the  bar,  and  only  too  glad  to  have 
anything  on  which  to  try  his  'prentice  hand. 
Moreover,  he  needed  every  penny  he  could  hon- 
estly earn  and  had  any  one  thought  his  services 
worth  remuneration  he  would  have  been  glad  to 
take  it,  had  it  been  legally  possible  to  do  so.  But 
of  course,  it  was  not,  for  the  Illinois  statutes  abso- 
lutely forbade  the  collection  of  law  fees  by  un- 
licensed persons. 

His  pay  as  an  assemblyman  was  three  dollars 
a  day,  exactly  what  he  had  been  receiving  as  a 
deputy  surveyor,  so  that  his  financial  situation 
was  not  improved  when  he  reported  at  Vandalia, 
the  state  capital,  as  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
on  December  1,  1834. 

The  new  member  from  Sangamon  County 
was  not  the  sort  of  man  that  pushes  his  way  into 
the  limelight  the  moment  he  treads  the  public 
stage.  Always  slow  to  act  until  sure  of  what  he 
was  doing,  he  attempted  nothing  except  a  few 
motions  of  no  importance  during  his  first 
terms  as  an  assemblyman.  Probably  much  of  his 
time  was  spent  in  making  the  acquaintance  of 
his  fellow  members.  For  the  most  part  they  were 
young  and  untried  like  himself — pioneers  from 

44 


LAW   STUDENT   AND   LEGISLATOR 

the  fields  and  forests,  wearing  their  brown  jeans 
and  buckskins  proudly,  and  here  and  there  sport- 
ing the  coon  or  fox-skin  cap  of  the  disappearing 
wilderness. 

Unquestionably  the  most  notable  event  of  his 
first  year  in  office  was  Lincoln's  introduction  to 
a  dark-haired,  stocky  youngster  of  twenty-one 
busily  pressing  his  claims  for  the  post  of 
state's  attorney.  He  had  only  recently  become 
a  resident  of  Illinois  where  he  had  arrived  from 
Vermont  with  only  thirty-nine  cents  in  his  pocket. 
But  he  had  soon  hung  out  his  shingle  as  an  attor- 
ney with  all  the  aplomb  of  an  experienced  practi- 
tioner. Self-assurance  was  a  quality  which 
Lincoln  lacked,  and,  perhaps  for  that  reason,  he 
may  have  studied  the  youthful,  self -proclaimed 
candidate  for  state's  attorney  with  more  than 
ordinary  interest.  Certainly  it  was  fortunate 
that  he  met  that  ambitious  youngster  at  the  very 
outset  of  his  career,  for  Stephen  A.  Douglas  and 
he  were  destined  to  battle  fiercely,  shaking  the 
very  foundations  of  the  national  government. 


CHAPTER  XII 

A  SECOND  CAMPAIGN 

IN  the  spring  of  1835  Lincoln  returned  to  his 
surveying  work,  not  much  encouraged  by  his 
legislative  experience,  but  more  determined  than 
ever  upon  a  legal  career.  He  was  then  twenty- 
six  years  of  age,  practically  penniless  and  with- 
out any  immediate  prospect  of  bettering  his 
fortunes.  Nevertheless,  it  was  at  this  time  that 
he  became  engaged  to  Anne  Rutledge,  a  charm- 
ing young  girl  whom  he  had  courted  for  almost 
three  years.  But  the  happiness  this  brought  into 
his  life  was  soon  dispelled,  for  within  a  few 
months  of  their  betrothal  his  fiancee  died  and 
Lincoln  sank  into  a  despondency  from  which  he 
could  barely  rouse  himself  to  attend  the  extra 
session  of  the  Legislature  scheduled  for  the  com- 
ing winter.  Fortunately  there  was  no  business 
before  the  Assembly  calling  for  energetic  action 
on  his  part,  the  main  purpose  of  the  chamber 
being  to  pass  a  bill  increasing  the  number  of  its 
members    to   represent    the    rapidly    mounting 

46 


A  SECOND   CAMPAIGN 

population  of  the  state.  With  the  enactment  of 
this  law  Lincoln's  term  of  office  expired  and  he 
immediately  announced  himself  as  a  candidate 
for  reelection. 

The  canvass  of  the  voters  that  followed  did 
not  seriously  interfere  with  his  work  as  a  sur- 
veyor, and  his  steadily  increasing  preparations  for 
the  bar  to  which  he  was  duly  admitted  as  a  prac- 
titioner in  March,  1836.  In  fact,  the  whole 
campaign  was  a  very  friendly  affair,  the  rival 
candidates  traveling  together  through  the  county 
and  speaking  from  the  same  platform  until  one 
of  them  made  a  public  announcement  that  he  was 
in  possession  of  certain  facts  regarding  Lincoln 
which,  if  known,  would  dispose  of  him  as  a  candi- 
date, but  that  he  could  not  divulge  them  because 
of  his  strong  personal  friendship  for  his  oppo- 
nent. This  veiled  attack  proved  a  fatal  boom- 
erang to  its  author,  for  Lincoln  instantly 
published  an  open  letter  to  his  adversary,  waiving 
any  claims  he  might  be  supposed  to  have  as  an 
alleged  friend  and  insisting  that  his  accuser  con- 
ceal nothing;  otherwise  he  himself  would  be  a 
traitor  to  the  people  and  utterly  unfit  for 
office.   To  this  sharp  counter  attack  no  response 

47 


LINCOLN 

was  made  and,  perhaps  to  show  their  confidence 
in  him,  Lincoln's  friends  raised  a  fund  of  two 
hundred  dollars  to  pay  his  traveling  expenses. 
At  the  close  of  the  campaign  he  returned  $199.25 
to  the  donors,  expressing  his  appreciation  of  their 
thoughtfulness,  but  assuring  them  that  his  entire 
expenditure  had  been  only  seventy-five  cents.  In 
August,  1836,  when  the  ballots  were  counted, 
Lincoln  headed  the  poll. 

The  successful  candidates  from  Sangamon 
County  at  this  election  became  known  as  "the 
Long  Nine."  Each  of  them  was  over  six  feet 
tall,  their  combined  height  being  fifty-five  feet, 
of  which  Lincoln  contributed  nearly  three  inches 
more  than  the  average. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

FIRST  STAND  ON  SLAVERY 

THERE  has  been  some  confusion  among 
historians  and  biographers  as  to  the  date  at 
which  Lincoln  became  a  lawyer.  But  the  records 
still  existing  in  the  Circuit  Court  of  Sangamon 
County  admit  of  no  doubt  that  it  was  on  March 
24,  1836,  by  order  of  the  Hon.  Stephen  T. 
Logan,  Presiding  Justice,  that  Abraham  Lin- 
coln was  certified  as  "a  person  of  good  moral 
character  and  duly  admitted  as  a  practitioner  of 
law."  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  the  iden- 
tity of  the  two  persons  who  vouched  for  Lincoln's 
character,  but  after  a  long  and  exhaustive  search 
of  the  records  the  writer  is  convinced  that  the 
certificate,  if  there  ever  was  one,  is  not  in  ex- 
istence. 

Lincoln  was  then  in  his  twenty-eighth  year  and 
his  dawning  ability  had  full  play  at  the  next 
session  of  the  Legislature,  where  he  was  assigned 
to  a  number  of  important  committees  and  en- 
trusted with  the  bill  removing  the  state  capital 

49 


LINCOLN 

from  Vandalia  to  Springfield — a  measure  which 
aroused  local  jealousies  and  no  little  hard  feeling, 
but  was  triumphantly  carried. 

It  was  not  this  successful  demonstration  of 
leadership,  however,  that  attracted  most  atten- 
tion to  the  head  man  of  "the  Long  Nine."  To- 
ward the  close  of  the  session  a  resolution  was 
introduced  condemning  abolition  societies  and 
their  doctrines,  and  proclaiming,  among  other 
things,  "that  the  right  of  property  in  slaves  is 
sacred  to  the  slave-holding  states"  and  that  the 
Federal  Government  could  not  abolish  slavery 
in  the  District  of  Columbia  against  the  consent 
of  its  citizens  without  a  manifest  breach  of  good 
faith. 

This  resolution  passed  both  houses  of  the  Leg- 
islature, but  Lincoln  voted  with  the  minority. 
He  did  more.  He  circulated  among  his  col- 
leagues a  very  conservatively  worded  written 
protest  against  it  which  all,  save  one,  of  his  asso- 
ciates refused  to  sign.  Lincoln  and  Daniel 
Stone,  however,  put  their  signatures  to  the  paper 
and  filed  it  for  record. 

It  was  not  because  he  approved  of  the  Aboli- 
tionist activities  or  because  he  doubted  that  slav- 

50 


FIRST   STAND   ON   SLAVERY 

ery  was  legal  under  the  Constitution  that  he  took 
this  stand.  On  the  contrary,  his  protest  recited 
that  although  its  signers  believed  the  institution 
of  slavery  to  be  founded  on  both  injustice  and 
bad  policy,  the  abolition  doctrines  tended  to  in- 
crease rather  than  abate  its  evils ;  and  that  while 
they  believed  that  Congress  had  no  right  to  inter- 
fere with  slavery  in  the  states,  it  had  the  power  to 
abolish  it  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  although 
that  power,  they  thought,  ought  not  to  be  exer- 
cised unless  the  people  of  the  District  so  re- 
quested. 

Mild  as  this  pronouncement  seems  it  required 
courage  for  Lincoln  to  formulate  and  sign  it.  He 
was  at  the  very  threshold  of  his  political  and  pro- 
fessional career  and  knew  that  a  protest  of 
this  kind  would  make  enemies  at  a  time  when 
he  most  needed  friends.  Indeed,  public  as  well 
as  political  opinion  in  Illinois  was  strongly  op- 
posed to  raising  the  slavery  issue,  and  those  who 
did  so  were  regarded  as  trouble-makers. 

It  is  interesting  to  note,  however,  that  Lincoln, 
sometimes  referred  to  as  "the  great  Abolitionist," 
was  not  one  in  1837,  nor  did  he  ever  approve  of 
the  Abolition  movement. 

51 


CHAPTER  XIV 

A  NOTABLE  OPPORTUNITY 

THE  Illinois  Legislature  which  closed  its 
session  in  March,  1837,  was  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  governmental  bodies  ever  as- 
sembled under  one  roof  in  the  history  of  America. 
It  included  a  future  President,  a  future  candi- 
date for  the  presidency,  six  future  United  States 
senators,  eight  future  Congressmen,  a  Secretary 
of  the  Interior,  and  three  future  jurists  of  high 
distinction.  It  would  have  been  significant  if  the 
rail-splitting  representative  from  New  Salem 
had  merely  held  his  own  in  such  company.  But 
he  had  done  more  and  become,  for  better  or 
worse,  a  marked  man. 

Major  John  Stuart,  who  had  been  Lincoln's 
guide,  philosopher  and  friend  in  the  matter  of 
his  legal  education,  invited  his  protege  to  share 
his  office  when  he  moved  to  Springfield  at  the 
close  of  the  legislative  session,  and  almost  imme- 
diately followed  this  up  by  offering  him  a  part- 
nership.   Indeed,  within  three  days  of  his  arrival 

52 


A   NOTABLE   OPPORTUNITY 

a  law  shingle  announcing  the  formation  of  the 
firm  of  Stuart  &  Lincoln  hung  outside  Stuart's 
office.  Of  course,  the  senior  partner  was  aware 
that  his  junior  knew  very  little  law.  Yet  he  had 
seen  enough  of  him  to  be  certain  that  he  was 
honest,  reliable  and  ambitious  to  succeed,  and 
more  than  enough  to  assure  him  that  he  was  a 
coming  man  in  public  life. 

It  was  not  altogether  because  of  his  promising 
qualities  that  Stuart  offered  Lincoln  this  great 
opportunity.  He  had  been  in  practice  for  many 
years  and  had  worked  up  a  quite  extended,  but 
not  very  lucrative,  clientage.  But  at  the  time  he 
made  Lincoln  his  associate  he  had  become  far 
more  interested  in  politics  than  in  law,  and  having 
just  emerged  from  a  hot  campaign  for  Congress, 
in  which  he  had  met  defeat,  was  anxious  to  devote 
most  of  his  time  to  assuring  success  at  the  next 
election.  He  certainly  needed  to  make  careful 
preparation,  for  his  opponent  proved  to  be 
Stephen  A.  Douglas,  the  young  man  who,  at 
twenty-one,  had  sought  the  office  of  state's  at- 
torney. 

Stuart  &  Lincoln's  office  in  Springfield  was 
somewhat  primitive.     It  consisted  of  one  room, 

53 


LINCOLN 

directly  under  the  quarters  of  the  county  court, 
sparsely  furnished  with  a  bed,  a  lounge,  a  rough 
table,  a  chair  or  two,  and  a  few  books.  No  law 
library  was  essential  for  the  practice  of  the  pro- 
fession in  Springfield  at  that  period,  for  the  town 
had  only  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  the  State 
House  had  not  been  erected  and  the  Legislature 
convened  in  a  church.  The  only  qualifications  for 
an  office  practice  were  a  general  acquaintance 
with  legal  forms,  some  common  sense  and  a  fair 
knowledge  of  human  nature.  Practice  on  the  cir- 
cuit required  a  good  deal  more  than  this,  but 
circuit  work  was  not  to  be  entrusted  to  Lincoln 
for  some  time.  His  immediate  duties  were  to 
keep  the  firm's  accounts,  interview  clients  and 
copy  all  law  papers.  In  these  days  of  stenog- 
raphers and  typewriters  it  is  difficult  to  realize 
the  enormous  amount  of  drudgery  in  maintaining 
even  a  primitive  legal  practice  when  every  paper 
had  to  be  copied,  and  perhaps  duplicated  and 
triplicated,  again  and  again.  Few  lawyers 
employed  office  assistants,  as  clerical  work  always 
devolved  on  junior  partners,  and  Lincoln's  main 
duty  during  the  first  part  of  his  association  with 
Stuart  was  that  of  a  law  scrivener,  which  kept 

54 


A   NOTABLE   OPPORTUNITY 

him  fairly  busy  all  day  long.  The  handling  of 
the  ledgers  was  no  great  burden,  although  they 
had  to  record  the  sometimes  complicated  bargains 
made  with  clients.  One  of  the  still  existing  en- 
tries in  Stuart  &  Lincoln's  bill  book  of  1837  shows 
that,  of  a  fifty-dollar  fee,  fifteen  were  paid  by  "a 
coat  given  to  Stuart,"  and  similar  notations  ap- 
pear in  Lincoln's  handwriting.  All  of  which 
demonstrates  that  lawyers  in  those  days  were  not 
above  measuring  the  value  of  their  professional 
services  in  the  terms  of  trade. 

Lincoln's  duties  did  not  interfere  with  his  ac- 
tivities in  the  Whig  party.  He  attended  all  its 
meetings  and  most  of  his  evenings  were  spent  in 
Speed's  store — the  general  forum  of  local  debate. 
In  fact,  Jie  lived,  for  a  while,  over  this  store  but, 
as  time  wore  on,  he  stayed  all  night  as  well  as  all 
day  at  the  office  and  studied  increasingly  as 
Stuart  gave  him  more  responsibility  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  firm's  affairs.  It  was  well  that 
the  senior  partner  did  so,  for  his  Congressional 
contest  against  Douglas  gave  him  very  little 
time  to  attend  to  law  business,  and  his 
victory,  by  a  few  votes,  soon  transferred  his 
activities  to  Washington.    It  then  became  neces- 

55 


LINCOLN 

sary  for  Lincoln  to  handle  the  circuit  as  well  as 
the  office  work  and,  although  he  had  had  some 
little  experience  in  court  before  Stuart  became  a 
Congressman,  he  was  practically  a  novice.  More- 
over, his  first  efforts  to  represent  the  firm  as  a 
trial  lawyer  had  not  been  encouraging.  On  one 
occasion  Stuart  sent  him  to  a  client  by  the  name 
of  Baddeley  with  a  letter  of  introduction  advis- 
ing him  that  Lincoln  would  handle  a  jury  case 
which  the  firm  had  undertaken  and  that  he  could 
be  confident  that  the  junior  partner  would  pre- 
sent it  to  the  court  in  a  satisfactory  manner. 

Baddeley  gazed  at  the  bearer  of  this  note  with 
amazement  and  indignation.  He  appeared  to  be 
a  country  bumpkin  of  the  rawest  possible  type, 
awkward,  ungainly  and,  worst  of  all,  shy.  His 
homespun  clothes,  of  which  the  coat  was  too  large 
and  the  trousers  too  short,  gave  a  comic  touch  to 
his  obvious  rusticity,  his  whole  appearance  invit- 
ing not  confidence,  but  laughter.  That  a  repu- 
table attorney  should  attempt  to  palm  off  such 
a  figure  of  fun  on  a  client  seemed  an  insult  to 
Baddeley  and  a  breach  of  good  faith.  The  result 
was  that  he  promptly  retained  other  lawyers 

56 


A   NOTABLE   OPPORTUNITY 

and  informed  Stuart's  deputy  that  his  services 
would  not  be  required. 

In  later  years  the  disgusted  client  became  one 
of  Lincoln's  greatest  admirers,  but  his  unflatter- 
ing verdict  at  their  first  meeting  did  not  dis- 
courage the  young  advocate's  hope  of  a  more 
favorable  reception  at  the  hands  of  the  circuit 
jurors. 


CHAPTER  XV 

PLUNGING  INTO  PRACTICE 

IT  was  probably  fortunate  for  Lincoln  that 
Stuart  virtually  retired  from  practice  soon 
after  the  formation  of  their  partnership,  for 
it  threw  him  entirely  on  his  own  resources  and 
forced  him  to  plunge  into  trial  work — sink  or 
swim.  Possibly  the  older  man  could  have  given 
his  young  associate  an  easier  initiation,  but  it  is 
very  questionable  whether  the  start  would  have 
been  in  the  right  direction.  Stuart  was  not  a 
well-read  or  industrious  lawyer  and  the  last  man 
in  the  world  to  impress  any  one  with  the 
value  of  system  and  order  in  a  law  office.  Per- 
haps no  one  could  have  made  Lincoln  into  a  neat 
and  tidy  legal  practitioner  of  the  solicitor  type. 
He  was  naturally  indifferent  to  details  and  care- 
less about  everything  which  enters  into  good  or- 
ganization. In  fact,  the  nearest  he  ever  came  to 
evolving  any  plan  for  the  care  of  his  papers  was 
to  procure  a  box  labeled,  "When  you  can't  find  it 
anywhere  else,  look  in  here." 

58 


PLUNGING   INTO   PRACTICE 

Had  he  been  under  the  guidance  of  a  business- 
like attorney  he  might  possibly  have  seen  the  ad- 
vantage of  systematizing  his  work.  But  Stuart 
had  no  ideas  of  his  own  on  such  matters  and  Lin- 
coln never  originated  any  for  himself.  In  other 
respects  his  isolation  proved  altogether  fortunate. 
Left  to  his  own  devices  his  mind  began  to  develop 
along  independent  lines  in  the  lonely  Springfield 
office.  There  were,  in  those  days,  very  few  estab- 
lished precedents  in  Illinois  and  comparatively 
few  law  books.  In  a  way,  this  was  no  disadvan- 
tage, for  as  a  cynical  but  witty  and  distinguished 
New  York  jurist  once  said,  "I  avoid  reading  law 
lest  it  impair  my  sense  of  justice." 

Forced  by  sheer  necessity  to  puzzle  out  his 
legal  problems  for  himself,  Lincoln  sought  to 
discover,  not  what  others  thought,  but  what  he 
himself  concluded.  According  to  his  own  state- 
ment, it  irritated  him  as  a  boy  when  any  one  made 
a  statement  which  he  could  not  understand  and 
he  was  never  satisfied  until  he  could  discover  its 
meaning  and,  to  use  his  own  words,  "bound  every 
thought  north,  south,  east  and  west."  His  mind, 
he  asserted,  was  like  a  piece  of  steel,  very  hard  to 

59 


LINCOLN 

scratch  but  every  mark  made  upon  it  became 
indelible. 

From  working  things  out  in  his  own  mind  he 
acquired  the  invaluable  habit  of  seeking  the  high 
point  in  each  case,  eliminating  all  side  issues  and 
concentrating  upon  the  one  on  which  he  judged 
the  cause  depended.  It  is  very  rarely  that  any 
legal  problem,  no  matter  how  complicated,  has 
more  than  one  real  issue.  The  difficulty  is  to  find 
and  so  present  it  that  the  court  and  jury — espe- 
cially a  jury — will  not  be  diverted  by  minor  con- 
siderations. Lincoln  developed  a  positive  genius 
for  detecting  the  dominating  point  of  law  or  the 
salient  fact  in  each  case  and  never  losing  track 
of  it  for  an  instant  or  permitting  any  one  else  to 
obscure  it.  Unquestionably  he  first  began  to  cul- 
tivate this  gift  during  the  lonely  hours  he  spent  in 
Stuart's  office  and  it  assured  his  success  as  a  court 
lawyer  long  before  he  even  dreamed  that  he 
would  some  day  have  to  handle  the  most  tangled 
and  intricate  questions  ever  submitted  to  a  states- 
man. 

Lincoln  would  have  had  quite  enough  to  oc- 
cupy him  had  he  merely  been  responsible  for 
conducting  the  business  of  his  law  firm.    But  he 

60 


PLUNGING   INTO   PRACTICE 

was,  meanwhile,  twice  elected  to  the  Assembly 
and  made  a  member  of  the  Springfield  Board 
of  Trustees,  which  at  times  involved  highly  im- 
portant duties. 

In  1839  a  company  of  actors  arrived  at  the 
capital  where  they  intended  to  erect  a  temporary 
theater  and  give  a  series  of  plays.  At  that 
moment,  however,  there  was  a  religious  revival 
going  on  in  the  city  and  its  sponsors,  not  wel- 
coming the  advent  of  the  "godless"  players,  man- 
aged in  some  way  to  have  the  authorities  impose 
a  prohibitive  license  fee  on  their  performance. 
Among  the  traveling  barnstormers  was  the 
famous  Joseph  Jefferson,  destined  to  be  known  to 
several  generations  as  "Rip  Van  Winkle." 
Jefferson  was  then  not  much  more  than  a  child 
playing  under  his  father's  guidance,  but  he  re- 
cords the  fact  that  when  the  company  had  been 
virtually  refused  permission  to  perform,  a  young 
lawyer  called  on  the  manager  and  stated  that  if 
the  whole  matter  were  left  in  his  hands  he  would 
undertake  to  get  the  license  fee  canceled  without 
cost.  Naturally  his  offer  was  eagerly  accepted 
and  the  actors  accompanied  him  to  the  State 
House,  where  he  argued  and  joked  the  Board  of 

61 


LINCOLN 

Trustees  into  revoking  the  obnoxious  ordinance. 
Mr.  Jefferson,  of  course,  erred  in  thinking  that 
Lincoln,  on  this  occasion,  acted  as  a  lawyer.  It 
was  undoubtedly  in  his  capacity  as  a  member  of 
the  Town  Board  that  he  befriended  the  flayers, 
but  the  distinguished  comedian  was  unquestion- 
ably correct  in  stating  that  he  kept  the  council 
room  in  a  roar  of  laughter  while  ridiculing  the 
trustees  for  their  exclusion  of  "unholy"  players 
from  the  sacred  precincts  of  Springfield. 

Not  the  least  of  his  extraneous  duties  was  Lin- 
coln's constant  correspondence  with  Stuart  dur- 
ing the  sessions  of  Congress.  He  kept  his  part- 
ner in  close  touch  with  all  the  political  news  of 
the  district  and  advised  him  as  to  public  opinion 
on  local  and  national  issues.  It  is  difficult  at  this 
day  to  note  any  very  vital  difference  between  the 
policies  of  the  Whig  party,  to  which  Stuart  and 
Lincoln  belonged,  and  that  of  its  rival,  the  Demo- 
cratic organization.  But  it  was  of  the  highest 
possible  importance  for  the  absent  Congressman 
to  know  what  his  constituents  were  thinking 
about,  and  if  Lincoln  did  not  bring  much  new 
law  business  to  his  partner,  he  proved  invaluable 
as  a  political  agent. 

62 


PLUNGING   INTO   PRACTICE 

Lincoln's  record  in  the  Legislature  was  not 
particularly  notable  during  his  partnership  with 
Stuart;  nor  did  he  make  much  more  than  a  bare 
living.  What  his  exact  earnings  were  is  not 
known,  but  they  were  enough  to  enable  him  to 
reduce  his  "national  debt,"  and,  what  was  far 
more  important,  he  made  a  favorable  impression 
on  his  fellow  practitioners  at  the  bar.  So  fa- 
vorable that  in  1841,  when  he  was  thirty-two 
years  of  age,  ex-Judge  Stephen  Logan,  who  had 
signed  the  order  for  his  admission  to  the  pro- 
fession, offered  him  a  partnership. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE  CHANCE  OF  A  LIFETIME 

IT  was  a  great  opportunity  that  Logan  of- 
fered to  the  struggling  young  attorney.  But 
it  had  not  come  to  Lincoln  by  luck.  He  had 
earned  the  chance.  The  Judge,  who  had  retired 
from  the  bench  in  1837,  was  unquestionably  one 
of  the  leading  lawyers,  if  not  the  leading  lawyer, 
of  Illinois  at  the  date  of  the  formation  of  the 
firm  of  Logan  &  Lincoln.  He  specialized  in 
jury  trials  and  his  name  appears  more  frequently 
than  that  of  any  other  lawyer  in  the  appeal 
records  of  his  day.  In  fact,  he  represented 
one  side  or  the  other  of  almost  every  important 
litigation  in  Illinois. 

Certainly  it  was  not  because  he  needed  as- 
sistance in  building  up  a  practice  that  he  chose 
Lincoln  as  his  associate.  He  wanted  a  young 
man  who  had  brains  enough  to  give  promise  of 
becoming  a  lawyer  of  distinction,  and  he  had  a 
rare  gift  for  picking  able  assistants.  No  less  than 
four  future  United  States  senators  and  three 

64 


THE   CHANCE   OF   A   LIFETIME 

future  governors  of  states  were  educated  in  his 
office,  and  when  he  selected  Lincoln  he  had  the 
whole  Illinois  bar  to  choose  from,  for  no  lawyer 
would  have  hesitated  to  become  his  associate. 
As  to  Lincoln's  aptitude  for  the  law,  he  had 
some  first-hand  information,  because,  within  the 
past  few  years,  he  had  encountered  him  many 
times  in  the  courts  and  in  1839  had  argued  three 
appeals  against  him,  in  all  of  which  Lincoln  suc- 
ceeded. 

Major  Stuart,  the  sort  of  lawyer  who  takes 
his  duties  very  lightly,  would  have  been  satisfied 
with  any  conscientious  associate,  even  if  his 
knowledge  of  law  were  slight.  But  Logan  was 
an  entirely  different  type,  being  well  read, 
highly  industrious,  devoted  to  his  profession  and 
by  no  means  indifferent  to  money.  He  not  only 
had  much  more  method  than  Stuart  in  the  man- 
agement of  his  office  and  in  systematizing  his 
work,  but  also  far  more  education,  being,  first 
and  foremost,  a  student,  who  knew  not  only  how 
to  acquire,  but  how  to  impart  a  knowledge  of  the 
law.  From  the  very  inception  of  their  partner- 
ship he  began  to  train  his  new  associate  in  all  that 
enters  into  the  making  of  a  high-class  jurist,  and 

65 


LINCOLN 

under  his  tutelage  Lincoln  soon  began  to  take 
rank  among  the  foremost  trial  counsel  in  his 
state. 

The  two  men  made  an  almost  ideal  legal  com- 
bination. Logan  had  the  law  at  his  fingers'  ends 
while  Lincoln  knew  how  to  present  facts  so  that 
the  juries  could  understand  them,  and  in  time 
became  almost  equally  effective  with  the  judges. 
During  the;  December  term  of  1841  he  argued 
fourteen  appeals  and  won  all  but  four,  and  in 
1842  and  1843  the  firm  may  fairly  be  said  to 
have  monopolized  the  best  business  transacted 
in  the  courts  of  Illinois. 

For  the  first  time  in  his  life  Lincoln  began  to 
earn  more  than  a  bare  living,  and  in  November, 
1842,  he  married  Miss  Mary  Todd,  a  Kentucky 
girl  of  good  family  for  whose  hand,  curiously 
enough,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  had  been  an  ardent 
suitor.  But  this  period  of  his  life,  which  should 
have  been  his  happiest,  witnessed  what  were,  per- 
haps, its  most  despondent  moments.  All  ambi- 
tion for  a  political  career  apparently  left  him;  he 
grew  morbid  about  his  health;  was  beset  with 
doubts  concerning  his  impending  marriage;  de- 

66 


THE   CHANCE   OF   A   LIFETIME 

clined  a  further  nomination  for  the  Assembly; 
suppressed  a  movement  among  his  friends  to  pro- 
pose his  name  for  the  governorship  of  Illinois, 
and  felt  sorely  disappointed  when  his  ambition 
to  enter  Congress  was  defeated  by  something 
very  like  trickery  in  the  ranks  of  his  own  party. 
Nevertheless,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  sacrifice  his 
own  chances  for  the  office  when  he  saw  that  by 
so  doing  he  could  break  up  a  little  conspiracy 
that  had  been  formed  by  self-serving  politicians, 
and  thus  assure  the  success  of  one  of  his  friends. 
Although  there  is  no  positive  proof  that  Edward 
Baker,  the  successful  candidate,  agreed  with  his 
closest  rivals — Hardin  and  Lincoln — that  each 
of  them,  in  turn,  should  have  the  Congressional 
nomination  in  the  following  years,  it  is  a  fact 
that  Hardin  succeeded  Baker  at  the  end  of  one 
year,  and  Lincoln  became  the  nominee  in  1846. 
In  the  meantime  the  partnership  of  Logan  & 
Lincoln  came  to  an  end.  Just  when  they  parted 
company  is  uncertain,  but  it  was  probably  in 
1844.  No  particular  cause  can  be  assigned  for  the 
separation,  except  that  Lincoln,  under  Logan's 
coaching,   had   made   enormous   strides   in   his 

67 


LINCOLN 

career  and  somewhat  outgrown  his  instructor. 
It  had  been  a  wonderful  educational  experience 
for  the  junior  partner,  but  at  the  end  of  three 
years  he  no  longer  felt  the  need  of  guidance  and 
formed  the  firm  of  Lincoln  &  Herndon,  with 
William  H.  Herndon,  then  quite  a  youngster, 
in  the  junior  role. 

Two  years  later  Lincoln  was  nominated  for 
Congress,  easily  defeated  his  opponent,  Peter 
Cartwright,  a  Methodist  preacher,  and  started 
for  Washington  in  November,  1847,  as  the  duly 
elected  representative  of  his  district. 

To  the  Congressional  Directory,  which  pro- 
vides the  average  newcomer  in  Congress  with  an 
opportunity  to  spread  the  full  record  of  his 
achievements  and  qualities  with  no  shrinking 
modesty  before  the  waiting  world,  Lincoln  gave 
the  following  "life  story": 

Born  February  12,  1809,  in  Hardin  County, 
Kentucky. 

Education — defective. 

Profession — a  lawyer. 

Have  been  a  captain  of  volunteers  in  Black 
Hawk  War. 

Postmaster  at  a  very  small  office. 

68 


THE   CHANCE   OF   A   LIFETIME 

Four  times  a  member  of  the  Illinois  legisla- 
ture and  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  Con- 
gress. 

There  was  no  overstatement  in  those  forty- 
six  words. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

A  CONGRESSMAN  OF  COURAGE 

IF  Lincoln's  friends  expected  him  to  distin- 
guish himself  in  the  National  Legislature — 
and  they  did  not  hesitate  to  so  advise  him — they 
were  doomed  to  bitter  disappointment. 

He  had  entered  Congress  shortly  after  the 
declaration  of  war  against  Mexico  while  the 
country  glowed  with  enthusiasm  over  the  tri- 
umphal progress  of  the  army.  Popular  opinion 
demanded  that  criticism  of  the  government  be 
suspended  during  hostilities,  especially  in  regard 
to  the  policy  of  the  administration  toward  the 
republic  with  which  the  United  States  was  at 
war.  Anything  less  than  this  was  popularly  re- 
garded as  giving  "aid  and  comfort  to  the  enemy." 

But  Lincoln,  regarding  the  war  as  more  or 
less  of  a  conspiracy  to  extend  slavery  in  the 
United  States,  refused  to  give  even  silent  en- 
couragement to  what  he  considered  a  dangerous 
national  tendency.  The  facts  were  plain  and 
he  was  entirely  familiar  with  them.     In  1840 

70 


A   CONGRESSMAN   OF   COURAGE 

Texas  had  revolted  against  Mexico  and  had  se- 
cured, by  force  of  arms,  a  treaty  from  Santa 
Anna,  the  Mexican  general,  stipulating  that  cer- 
tain described  territory  should  be  regarded  as 
that  of  the  independent  Texan  republic.  But 
this  treaty,  signed  by  Santa  Anna  while  a  pris- 
oner and  in  fear  of  his  life,  had  been  repudiated 
by  Mexico  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  and 
the  hostilities  it  had  supposedly  terminated  were 
resumed. 

With  its  boundary  lines  still  in  dispute,  Texas 
applied  for  admission  to  the  Union  and  the  ad- 
vocates of  slavery  welcomed  it  with  open  arms. 
They  needed  new  territory,  and  needed  it  badly, 
for  the  admission  of  free  states  into  the  Union 
had  been  rapidly  cutting  down  their  majority  in 
both  houses  of  Congress,  and  unless  something 
were  done  it  was  certain  that  the  control  of  the 
government  would  soon  pass  into  other  hands. 
In  fact,  the  free  state  representation  in  both  the 
Senate  and  the  House  was  already  formidable 
and,  although  still  an  unorganized  minority, 
its  susceptibilities  had  to  be  carefully  con- 
sidered. For  that  reason  the  act  admitting  Texas 
to  the  Union  provided  that  while  it  might  be  di- 

71 


LINCOLN 

vided  into  any  number  of  states,  slavery  should 
be  absolutely  prohibited  in  all  of  them  that  lay 
north  of  36  degrees  30  minutes  (the  Missouri 
Compromise  line),  but  in  those  that  lay  to  the 
south  slavery  might  or  might  not  be  permitted, 
as  their  constitutions  should  provide. 

Those  clauses  were,  of  course,  intended  as 
sops  to  the  free  state  enthusiasts,  but  as  no  land 
claimed  by  Texas  lay  north  of  36  degrees  30 
minutes,  the  intention  to  create  new  slave  states 
should  have  been  apparent  to  even  the  most  inno- 
cent beholder.  It  was  equally  obvious  that  the 
more  territory  Texas  claimed  the  greater  would 
be  the  number  of  new  states  into  which  it  could  be 
carved.  That  the  pro-slavery  advocates  could 
pass  such  a  law  demonstrated  their  power.  And 
pass  it  they  did.  Texas  was,  therefore,  admitted 
to  the  Union  and  the  army  sent  to  take  possession 
of  the  territory  to  which  it  asserted  ownership 
under  the  repudiated  Santa  Anna  treaty.  The 
clash  with  Mexico  followed. 

President  Polk  had  repeatedly  alluded  in  his 
Congressional  war  messages  "to  the  Mexican  in- 
vasion of  our  territory  and  the  blood  of  our  fel- 
low citizens  shed  on  our  soil." 

72 


A   CONGRESSMAN   OF   COURAGE 

This  seemed  absurd  to  Lincoln  and  almost  his 
first  official  act  was  to  introduce  a  series  of  reso- 
lutions requesting  the  President  to  locate  the 
particular  "spot"  which  had  been  invaded  and  on 
which  the  blood  of  our  citizens  had  been  shed. 
Of  course  every  one  knew  that  "the  spot"  in 
question  lay  well  within  the  territory  which 
Mexico  insisted  was  no  part  of  Texas.  But  Lin- 
coln framed  his  questions,  which  afterward  be- 
came known  as  the  "Spot  Resolutions,"  in  such 
a  fashion  as  to  force  the  administration  to  admit 
either  that  "the  spot"  lay  beyond  the  proper 
boundaries  of  Texas  or  that  it  did  not  know 
whether  it  lay  within  or  without  the  limits  of  the 
new  state.  Each  question  was  framed  with  con- 
summate legal  skill,  but  all  of  them  were  worded 
with  such  sly  humor  that  they  raised  a  laugh  at 
the  expense  of  the  administration.  Probably 
that  was  all  the  new  Congressman  hoped  to  ac- 
complish, and  his  resolution  never  came  to  a 
vote. 

Lincoln,  however,  speedily  heard  from  it  in 
no  uncertain  fashion.  Friends  and  foes  alike, 
and  especially  the  politicians,  condemned  it  as  an 
attempt  to  discredit  the  country  before  the  world 

73 


LINCOLN 

and  embarrass  its  army  in  the  field.  But  Lin- 
coln refused  to  be  intimidated.  He  would,  he 
assured  his  friends,  support  the  troops  who  were 
obeying  orders  and  were  not  responsible  for  the 
war,  but  would  not  stultify  his  conscience  by  ap- 
proving the  war  itself,  which  he  sincerely  believed 
to  be  unnecessary,  unjust,  and  dangerous  to  the 
future  welfare  of  the  nation. 

This  answer  by  no  means  satisfied  his  con- 
stituents, some  of  whom  sadly  shook  their  heads, 
believing  that  his  unpopular  stand  had  ended  his 
public  career.  He  probably  agreed  with  them, 
for  when  the  country  is  not  in  a  mood  for  joking 
true  words  spoken  in  jest  sound  false.  He  there- 
fore made  a  serious  attack  on  the  pro-slavery 
forces  by  introducing  a  bill  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery  within  the  District  of  Columbia  on 
proper  compensation  to  slave  owners  within  the 
District.  If  such  a  measure  passed  it  might,  he 
thought,  create  a  precedent  for  the  abolition  of 
slavery  by  compensation,  and  once  that  became 
popular  the  whole  institution  would  be  doomed. 

The  danger  was  critical  and  no  one  realized 
it  more  keenly  than  the  political  agents  of  the 
so-called  cotton  belt.    They  were  well  aware  that 

74 


(£xtcutivt    fttnttsiott, 

/V^vw  a^    ki*~v  C^CO,   <SdL  /6?  £ 

£*-**    ^CnrvXr    £&      ^trg-G^&^zr  ,f  j&Co-t^j   (~    &£.»  «^3^35y 

/.-   n~~&~*  Y  Cy^,  ^  t£,    ^S^7a^c^c-  *r-£~  &£,<*" 

LETTER  FROM   ABRAHAM   LINCOLN  TO  HORACE   GREELEY 

From  the  original  in  The  Pierpont  Morgan  Library 


&4~, 


LINCOLN 

several  Southern  states  might  support  Lincoln's 
bill,  and  if  it  ever  came  to  a  vote  it  would 
probably  be  passed.  The  only  way  to  avoid  any 
such  risk  was  to  strangle  it  in  committee,  which 
they  succeeded  in  doing.  Thus  Lincoln  missed 
his  first  real  blow  at  slavery.  But  he  lived  to  see 
almost  that  identical  bill  become  a  law  bearing 
his  signature  as  President  of  the  United  States. 
Lincoln's  term  of  office  expired  on  March  4, 
1849.  He  was  then  tentatively  offered  the  Gov- 
ernment Land  Office  Commissionership  in  Il- 
linois, to  which  one  of  his  friends  aspired.  He 
therefore  declined  it,  and  by  the  time  he 
learned  that  his  friend  had  withdrawn,  the 
appointment  had  been  conferred  on  another 
man.  He  was  subsequently  offered  the 
governorship  of  Oregon,  but  refused  to  consider 
moving  his  family  into  such  a  wilderness.  In 
fact,  he  had  become  more  or  less  wedded  to 
Springfield  and  a  flattering  offer  of  a  law  part- 
nership from  Mr.  Grant  Goodrich  did  not  induce 
him  to  try  his  fortunes  in  Chicago.  Goodrich 
had  a  well-established  and  lucrative  practice,  and 
from  a  financial  standpoint  it  would  probably 
have  been  wise  to  accept  his  invitation.     But 

76 


A   CONGRESSMAN   OF   COURAGE 

Lincoln  felt  unwilling  to  change  his  home  sur- 
roundings, and  perhaps  sacrifice  his  independ- 
ence, merely  for  the  sake  of  money.  All  he 
wanted  was  enough  to  meet  his  expenses  which 
he  believed  he  could  earn,  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
the  debts  which  had  been  handicapping  him  for 
nearly  fifteen  years  had,  at  last,  been  fully  paid. 
It  was,  however,  no  easy  task  that  confronted 
him.  His  term  in  Congress  had  not  enhanced 
his  reputation  and  had  cost  him  most  of  his  law 
practice.  Yet  he  had  to  provide  not  only  for 
his  wife  and  children,  but  also  for  his  parents 
and  one  of  his  half-brothers,  all  of  whom  had  be- 
come entirely  dependent  on  his  support.  Under 
such  circumstances  he  decided  to  retire  absolutely 
from  public  life  and  devote  himself  exclusively  to 
his  profession.  It  was  not  without  a  pang  that 
he  renounced  his  political  ambitions,  but  he  lost 
no  time  in  bewailing  the  necessity,  and  within  a 
few  weeks  began  rebuilding  his  practice.  But  on 
entirely  new  lines. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

RIDING  THE  CIRCUIT 

BETWEEN  1849  and  1854  Lincoln  realized 
•  to  the  full  his  earliest  ambition,  for  between 
those  years  he  became  the  most  active  of  the 
circuit  riders  whose  cavalcades  he  had  regarded 
with  admiration  and  awe  in  the  days  of  the  Boon- 
ville  Court.  Of  course  he  had  had  a  taste  of 
this  life  during  his  partnership  with  Major 
Stuart,  and  throughout  the  association  with 
Judge  Logan  his  experience  had  been  consider- 
ably enlarged.  But  it  was  not  until  his  return 
from  Washington  that  he  determined  to  spe- 
cialize in  trial  work  and  began  earnestly  prepar- 
ing himself  for  the  duties  of  an  advocate. 

The  firm  of  Lincoln  &  Herndon  still 
existed,  but  from  a  financial  standpoint  it  had 
almost  ceased  to  function.  The  junior  partner 
was  not  a  well-trained  lawyer,  had  only  modest 
legal  ability,  and  practically  no  clientage.  But 
Lincoln  liked  him  and,  knowing  his  ways,  pre- 
ferred to  continue  the  partnership  rather  than 

78 


RIDING   THE   CIRCUIT 

form  a  new  one  with  an  abler  man  who  might 
not  be  willing  to  do  all  the  office  work,  leaving 
his  associate  free  to  travel  the  circuit  six  months 
of  the  year.  The  question  of  clientage  did  not 
trouble  Lincoln  at  all.  He  had  no  intention  of 
seeking  personal  clients,  having  fully  determined 
to  rely  mainly  on  trial  work  for  other  lawyers 
throughout  the  fourteen  counties  of  the  Eighth 
Judicial  Circuit — an  enormous  territory  not  cov- 
ered in  its  entirety  by  any  other  member  of  the 
bar. 

Lincoln  had  made  his  first  tours  of  the  circuit 
on  horseback,  carrying  saddle-bags  filled  with 
books  and  papers,  very  much  like  those  used  in 
the  early  days  of  the  Boonville  legal  cavalry.  By 
1850,  however,  it  had  become  practical  for  the 
bench  and  bar  to  travel  in  carriages.  Sometimes 
the  judge  drove  alone  in  his  buggy,  but  more 
often  shared  it  with  one  of  his  retinue,  while  the 
other  members  of  the  legal  family  followed  in  all 
sorts  of  conveyances,  the  occupants  usually  club- 
bing together  in  their  ownership  or  chartering 
of  the  vehicles. 

The  inn  accommodations  were  ordinarily  con- 
spicuous by  the  absence  of  everything  in  the  line 

79 


LINCOLN 

of  comfort.  It  was  but  rarely  that  a  circuit  town 
boasted  more  than  one  tavern  and  its  limited 
quarters  were  apt  to  be  crowded  with  litigants 
and  witnesses  long  before  the  law  fraternity  ar- 
rived on  the  scene.  One  room  was  always  re- 
served for  the  judge,  but  the  lawyers  had  to 
shift  for  themselves,  frequently  occupying  beds 
improvised  out  of  tables  or  benches,  or  sleeping 
on  the  floor  if  unwilling  to  bunk  in  the  stables. 
Nor  was  the  food  much  better  than  the  housing 
accommodations.  In  fact,  life  on  the  circuit  en- 
tailed discomfort,  if  not  actual  hardship.  Yet 
those  who  followed  the  court  soon  became  ac- 
customed to  the  rough  conditions  and  accepted 
them  more  or  less  philosophically.  Indeed,  as  a 
whole,  the  traveling  bar — a  cheerful,  easy-going 
company — undoubtedly  derived  more  pleasure 
from  the  practice  of  their  profession  than  mod- 
ern lawyers  do,  and  far  more  real  fellowship  pre- 
vailed among  them  than  exists  to-day.  No  one 
submitted  to  the  discomforts  more  uncomplain- 
ingly or  good-naturedly  than  Lincoln.  With 
all  its  disadvantages  he  loved  the  life  and  never 
worried  about  his  surroundings  or  tried  to  se- 
cure comfortable  quarters  at  the  expense  of  his 

80 


RIDING   THE  CIRCUIT 

associates.  Possibly  for  that  very  reason  he 
often  fared  much  better  than  they  did.  Every 
one  liked  him,  not  only  because  he  never  elbowed 
any  one  out  of  the  way,  but  because  he  was  droll, 
amusing  and  generally  good  company. 

Almost  from  the  start  he  became  a  favorite  of 
Judge  David  Davis,  the  presiding  genius  of  the 
Eighth  Judicial  Circuit,  who  constantly  invited 
him  to  be  his  traveling  companion  and  fre- 
quently shared  his  bed  with  him  at  the  inns.  This 
latter  arrangement,  however,  proved  more  of  a 
courtesy  than  a  comfort,  for  Davis  was  a  man  of 
enormous  bulk  and  Lincoln  so  tall  that  he  had 
to  lie  crosswise  in  the  average  bed  to  get  his  legs 
inside  the  covers,  leaving  insufficient  room  for  the 
Judge's  ponderous  body.  The  result  was  that 
neither  of  them  found  the  other  an  agreeable  bed- 
fellow. 

As  a  jurist  Davis  was  perhaps  the  ablest  of  the 
Illinois  bench,  a  bit  of  a  martinet  held  in 
considerable  awe  by  the  bar,  but  exceptionally 
well  read  in  the  law  and  respected  by  every  one 
for  his  integrity  and  fairness.  Despite  the  fact 
that  he  and  his  legal  family  were  exceedingly 
intimate  and  lived   at  times  under  conditions 

81 


LINCOLN 

which  forbade  official  aloofness,  no  one  ever 
dreamed  of  taking  any  undue  liberty  with  him 
in  the  court  room.  He  could  and  did  unbend  in 
his  personal  relations  with  the  attending  lawyers 
when  they  assembled  for  song,  story  and  general 
relaxation  at  the  inns.  But  woe  betide  any  coun- 
sel who  attempted  to  take  advantage  of  such  con- 
vivial comradeship  during  business  hours.  Once 
on  the  bench,  Davis  became,  first  and  foremost,  a 
judge  who  allowed  no  one  to  presume  on  social 
intimacy  for  the  furtherance  of  professional  ends. 
It  was  not  because  Lincoln  was  the  only  mem- 
ber of  the  bar  who  traveled  the  entire  round  of 
the  Eighth  Circuit  that  Davis  reposed  unusual 
confidence  in  him.  He  enjoyed  his  companion- 
ship, liked  his  witty  stories  and  admired  his  char- 
acter. But  his  legal  ability  had  a  peculiar  appeal 
for  the  Judge  who,  in  time,  came  to  regard  him 
as  the  leader  of  his  bar  and  missed  no 
proper  opportunity  for  emphasizing  that  fact. 
Indeed,  he  occasionally  carried  this  to  the  point 
of  designating  him  as  his  alternate  on  the 
bench,  and  there  is  some  reason  for  believing  that 
his  trusted  substitute  once  presided  during  an 
entire  term  of  the  court.     Certainly  numerous 

82 


RIDING   THE   CIRCUIT 

official  orders  of  the  old  Eighth  Circuit  are  re- 
corded in  his  handwriting.  Probably  he 
never  acted  in  a  judicial  capacity  without  the 
consent  of  the  attorneys  concerned  in  the  cases, 
although  this  may  sometimes  have  been  taken  for 
granted,  as  there  is  an  unconfirmed  rumor  of  one 
of  his  judgments  having  been  appealed  and  set 
aside  because  of  Davis's  free  and  easy  delegation 
of  authority. 

It  is  surprising  such  preferment  did  not  cause 
jealousy  among  Lincoln's  fellow  practitioners. 
But  apparently  it  did  not,  for  there  was  no  more 
popular  member  of  the  bar  in  the  days  when  he 
basked  in  the  sunshine  of  Davis's  favor.  Cer- 
tainly the  lawyers  of  the  Eighth  Circuit  fought 
each  other  valiantly,  but  they  ate  and  drank 
as  friends — especially  drank.  Lincoln  neither 
drank  nor  smoked.  Yet  at  the  merry  gatherings 
in  the  inns,  which  took  every  form  from  noisy 
song  fests  to  more  or  less  riotous  mock  trials,  he 
was  always  in  demand. 

But  Lincoln,  while  often  the  soul  of  those 
jovial  parties,  was  by  no  means  habitually  in  a 
holiday  mood.  On  the  contrary,  he  frequently 
became  so  absorbed  in  his  legal  problems  that  he 

83 


LINCOLN 

could  not  be  induced  to  take  part  in  any  festivi- 
ties and  held  himself  aloof  from  his  associates  for 
long  periods.  Moreover,  he  relapsed  quite  occa- 
sionally into  melancholy,  if  not  despondency. 
Then  nothing  served  to  divert  the  gloomy 
thoughts  with  which  he  seemed  to  be  struggling, 
and  at  such  times  his  companions  gradually 
learned  that  he  must  be  left  to  fight  out  the 
battle  alone.  Indeed,  it  was  largely  because  Lin- 
coln sought  relief  from  nervous  depression 
that  he  cultivated  the  wit  and  humor  which  aston- 
ished or  shocked  the  austere  and  endeared  him  to 
the  rest  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

EXPERIENCE  AND  DEVELOPMENT 

TO  understand  Lincoln's  career  as  a  states- 
man it  is  essential  to  note  the  development 
of  his  mental  powers  during  the  years  that  imme- 
diately preceded  his  election  to  the  presidency. 
His  character  formed  at  a  very  early  age,  but  his 
mind  did  not  mature  until  comparatively  late  in 
life  and  the  period  of  his  greatest  intellectual 
growth  was  that  which  he  dedicated,  almost  ex- 
clusively to  the  practice  of  law  on  the  Eighth 
Judicial  Circuit.  Of  course  his  general  attitude 
toward  his  profession  was,  in  part,  due  to  his 
character.  But  not  entirely  so.  Many  men  who 
rise  to  eminence  at  the  bar  lose  the  ideals  with 
which  they  enter  upon  the  performance  of  their 
duties  and  divorce  their  personal  views  from 
their  professional  opinions.  Lincoln  never  found 
this  either  necessary  or  expedient.  Long  be- 
fore he  attained  prominence  in  the  courts  of 
Illinois  he  formulated  his  theory  of  legal  ethics, 
and  it  is  important  to  note  how  far  he  carried  it 

85 


LINCOLN 

into  practice,  for  intellectual  honesty  became  the 
keynote  of  his  success  as  a  statesman. 

"There  is  a  vague  popular  belief,"  he  wrote  in 
1850,  "that  lawyers  are  necessarily  dishonest. 
.  .  .  Let  no  young  man  choosing  the  law  for  a 
calling  .  .  .  yield  to  that  popular  belief.  Re- 
solve to  be  honest  at  all  events;  and  if,  in  your 
own  judgment,  you  cannot  be  an  honest  lawyer, 
resolve  to  be  honest  without  being  a  lawyer. 
Choose  some  other  occupation  rather  than  one 
in  the  choosing  of  which  you  do,  in  advance, 
consent  to  be  a  knave." 

"Discourage  litigation,"  he  advised  a  group  of 
law  students.  "As  a  peacemaker  the  lawyer  has 
a  superior  opportunity  of  being  a  good  man." 

Admirable  as  those  sentiments  are,  they  would 
be  valueless  if  they  were  mere  lip  service  to  a 
professional  ideal.  The  vital  point  is  that  Lin- 
coln lived  up  to  and  found  them  practical. 

"Yes,"  he  wrote  to  a  prospective  client,  "we 
can  doubtless  win  your  case  for  you;  we  can  set 
a  whole  neighborhood  at  loggerheads;  we  can 
distress  a  widowed  mother  and  her  six  fatherless 
children.  You  must  remember,  however,  that 
some  things  which  are  legally  right  are  not  mor- 

86 


EXPERIENCE   AND   DEVELOPMENT 

ally  right.  We  shall  not  take  your  case  but  we 
will  give  you  a  little  advice  for  which  we  will 
charge  you  nothing.  You  seem  to  be  a  sprightly, 
energetic  man.  We  would  advise  you  to  try  your 
hand  at  making  six  hundred  dollars  some  other 
way." 

"Is  this  founded  on  fact?"  he  once  demanded 
of  Herndon  who  had  submitted  a  paper  similar 
to  the  "affidavit  of  merits"  which  to-day  dis- 
figures so  many  litigations.  His  partner  re- 
sponded that  it  was  the  usual  device  to  gain  time 
for  a  hard-pressed  client — colorably  though  not 
strictly  true.  "You  know  it  is  a  sham,"  Lincoln 
asserted,  "and  a  sham  is  very  often  but  another 
name  for  a  lie.  Don't  let  it  go  on  record.  The 
cursed  thing  may  come  staring  us  in  the  face 
long  after  this  suit  has  been  forgotten." 

In  a  case  where  two  young  men  interposed  the 
defense  that  they  were  not  of  age  when  they  con- 
tracted the  debt  for  which  they  were  sued,  Lin- 
coln advised  the  jury  to  disregard  the  plea. 
Legally,  he  admitted,  they  might  escape  payment 
by  hiding  behind  "the  baby  act,"  but  it  would  be 
morally  wrong  to  let  young  men  put  an  indelible 

87 


LINCOLN 

stain  on  their  lives  by  taking  advantage  of  such 
a  technicality. 

"You  speak  to  the  jury,"  he  advised  one  of  his 
associates.  "If  I  do  so,  they  will  see  from  my 
face  that  the  man  is  guilty  and  convict  him." 

On  one  occasion  he  abandoned  a  case  during 
the  course  of  a  trial  because  he  reached  the  con- 
clusion that  his  client  was  trying  to  perpetrate  a 
downright  fraud  and,  walking  out  of  the  court 
room,  left  the  matter  to  be  handled  by  the  attor- 
neys who  had  retained  him.  Judge  Davis, 
amazed  at  this  seeming  neglect  of  duty,  sent  him 
an  order  to  return  at  once  and  proceed  with  the 
case.  But  Lincoln  disregarded  it.  "You  tell  the 
Judge,"  he  instructed  the  messenger,  "that  my 
hands  are  dirty  and  that  I've  gone  away  to  wash 
them." 

He  had  no  patience  with  subterfuges  and  tech- 
nicalities of  any  kind  and  constantly  overruled 
his  associates  who  strove,  by  interposing  strictly 
legal  objections,  to  exclude  testimony  and  evi- 
dence which  they  considered  damaging.  "I 
reckon  it  would  only  be  fair  to  let  that  in,"  or 
"I  think  it  right  to  concede  this,"  was  his  usual 
reply. 

88 


EXPERIENCE   AND   DEVELOPMENT 

When  Lincoln  decided  that  trial  work  for 
other  lawyers  should  be  his  specialty  he  well  knew 
that  he  had  by  no  means  chosen  the  easiest  or 
the  speediest  way  to  earn  a  living  at  the  bar.  On 
his  retirement  from  Congress  whatever  legal 
reputation  he  had  acquired  in  his  earlier  practice 
had  been  almost  forgotten,  and  to  succeed  as  an 
advocate  he  had  to  convince  his  fellow  practi- 
tioners that  he  was  better  qualified  to  handle 
their  court  work  than  they  were — a  very  different 
thing  from  persuading  laymen  to  retain  him.  In 
a  way,  he  had  to  pit  himself  against  the  other 
members  of  his  profession  and  he  did  not  under- 
estimate their  ability,  knowing  that  among  them 
there  were  many  exceptional  men  with  more 
training  and  experience  than  he  could  claim.  To 
offset  this  he  applied  himself  to  the  study  of 
law  far  more  seriously  than  he  had  previously 
done,  began  working  at  Euclid,  German  and 
English,  and  compiled  the  notebooks  which  still 
exist,  containing  digests  of  law  cases  and  other 
evidence  of  legal  research. 

But  it  was  not  because  they  regarded  him  as  a 
profound  lawyer — there  was  nothing  profound 
about  him — that  his  fellow  members  of  the  bar 


LINCOLN 

began  to  retain  Lincoln.  They  quickly  dis- 
covered, however,  that  he  could  "diagnose"  a  case 
better  than  they  could,  seeing,  almost  at  a  glance, 
the  dominating  point  in  it  and  never  losing  sight 
of  it  or  letting  the  jury  or  the  court  do  so.  More- 
over, he  had  a  positive  genius  for  presenting  the 
most  complicated  issue  with  such  clarity  and 
frankness  that  even  an  untutored  mind  could 
comprehend  it.  Brushing  aside  all  unessential 
facts  and  going  straight  to  his  point — logically, 
honestly  and  courageously — he  convinced  others 
by  inspiring  them  with  confidence.  It  was  this 
rare  intellectual  gift  that  made  his  reputation  at 
the  bar,  and  marked  him  as  a  man  apart  among 
the  statesmen  of  the  world. 

Yet  the  lawyers  who  retained  him  did  not  do 
so  merely  because  he  had  developed  exceptional 
legal  talents.  They  relied  on  his  character.  They 
knew  he  was  unselfish  and  would  never  attempt 
to  wean  their  clients  from  them  or  try  to  over- 
shadow them  in  any  way.  Lincoln,  of  course, 
made  enemies  at  the  bar.  But  it  is  a  curious  fact 
that  those  who  cherished  grievances  against  him 
were,  for  the  most  part,  his  associate  counsel  and 
not  his  adversaries.     The  writer  has  personally 

90 


EXPERIENCE   AND   DEVELOPMENT 

investigated  all  such  criticisms  that  have  come  to 
his  attention,  and  in  every  instance  the  true  ex- 
planation of  the  complaint  lies  in  the  fact  that 
Lincoln  had  a  more  delicate  sense  of  professional 
honor  than  his  critic — a  sometimes  unforgivable 
offense. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  Lincoln's  record — public, 
private  and  professional — has  been  subjected  to 
more  pitiless  scrutiny  than  that  of  any  other  hu- 
man being,  and  its  freedom  from  blemish  is  a 
unique  tribute  to  his  character. 

Every  detail  of  his  experience  at  the  bar  dur- 
ing his  maturity  proved  of  value  to  him  in 
his  future  years.  But  perhaps  the  most  impor- 
tant asset  with  which  it  endowed  him  was  an  al- 
most uncanny  knowledge  of  human  nature.  The 
judges,  the  juries,  the  litigants,  the  witnesses, 
and  the  attorneys  all  afforded  him  a  peculiarly 
close  insight  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  men. 
Of  course  many  lawyers,  with  even  greater  op- 
portunities for  studying  their  fellow  beings,  learn 
nothing  worth  while  about  them.  From  his  con- 
tacts with  humanity  the  shyster  merely  adds  a 
few  tricks  to  his  trade,  and  an  egotist  is  usually 
content  to  mirror  himself  in  other  personalities. 

91 


LINCOLN 

But  human  minds  and  hearts  are  shy.  They 
open  only  to  rare  sympathy  and  are  probed  solely 
by  those  who  possess  the  gift  of  understanding. 
Lincoln  had  the  gift  and  it  brought  to  the  na- 
tion an  accurate  reader  of  character — a  just  in- 
terpreter of  human  motives. 


CHAPTER  XX 

FAMOUS  CASES 

WHEN  the  writer  of  these  pages  first  fol- 
lowed Lincoln's  trail  over  the  old  Eighth 
Judicial  Circuit,  he  kept  hearing  vague  stories  to 
the  effect  that  Lincoln  avoided  having  anything 
to  do  with  murder  cases,  because  one  of  his  ear- 
liest clients,  indicted  for  murder,  had  been  con- 
victed, sentenced  and  hanged.  None  of  the  circuit 
records,  however,  supported  this  rumor  and  no 
one  could  be  found  who,  of  his  own  knowledge, 
could  confirm  it.  Moreover,  convictions  of  capi- 
tal offenses  are  usually  appealed  to  the  court  of 
last  resort,  and  no  such  case  was  reported  in  that 
tribunal.  There  was  abundant  evidence  that  Lin- 
coln disliked  criminal  trials  in  general,  and  mur- 
der cases  in  particular.  But  that  was  about  all 
the  writer  discovered  after  a  long  and  careful 
search.  Then,  by  chance,  he  learned  that,  in  the 
very  early  days  of  his  practice,  Lincoln  some- 
times tried  cases  outside  the  limits  of  the  Eighth 
Circuit,  and  with  this  clew  the  papers  in  the  trial 

93 


LINCOLN 

of  one  William  Fraim  were  unearthed.  They 
were  all  in  Lincoln's  handwriting  and  proved 
conclusively  that  the  rumor  had  foundation.  He 
had  been  associated  in  the  defense  of  Fraim  and 
his  client  was  hanged  on  May  18,  1839. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  this  incident,  which 
occurred  soon  after  he  was  admitted  to  the  bar, 
left  a  very  disagreeable  impression  on  Lincoln's 
mind  and  disinclined  him  to  undertake  capital 
cases.  Nevertheless,  it  is  a  fact  that  at  least  two 
of  his  best  known  cases  were  based  on  charges 
of  murder  and,  in  each  instance,  the  accused  was 
related  to  people  he  had  known  in  his  boyhood 
days  or  in  the  early  period  of  his  struggle  to  gain 
a  livelihood.  The  story  of  one  of  them  is  so 
dramatic  that  it  has  been  repeated  hundreds  of 
times.  Indeed,  Edward  Eggleston  made  it  the 
theme  of  his  novel,  The  Graysons,  which,  in  its 
time,  was  very  widely  read. 

Lincoln  never  forgot  the  days  when  he  had 
been  a  "sort  of  clerk"  in  Offut's  grocery  at  New 
Salem,  or  the  Clary's  Grove  boys  of  whom  he 
became  the  leader  after  his  bout  with  Jack  Arm- 
strong, their  wrestling  champion.  Yet  Jack's 
wife  probably  did  not  feel  over-sanguine  of  her 

94 


FAMOUS  CASES 

old  friend's  response  when  she  appealed  to  him 
on  behalf  of  her  son  who  had  been  arrested  on 
the  charge  of  having  killed  a  youth  by  the  name 
of  Metzker.  Perhaps  she  had  heard  of  Lincoln's 
reluctance  to  take  such  cases,  or  she  may  have 
feared  that  he  had  forgotten  the  friends  of  his 
youth.  Many  a  year  had  passed  since  he  had 
fraternized  with  her  husband  and  the  "rough- 
neck" gang  from  Clary's  Grove.  In  the  mean- 
time he  had  become  one  of  the  distinguished  law- 
yers of  the  state,  if  not  the  leader  of  its  bar;  was 
counsel  for  the  Rock  Island  Railroad,  the  Illinois 
Central  Railway  and  many  other  important  cor- 
porations, and  generally  regarded  as  one  of  the 
most  influential  men  in  his  state.  No  wonder  the 
anxious  mother  suspected  that  the  result  of  her 
interview  with  him  might  prove  the  rule  that 
"old  friends  grown  great  have  short  memories." 
But  if  she  cherished  any  such  misgivings  Lincoln 
quickly  reassured  her.  He  not  only  agreed  to 
assist  the  attorney  she  had  already  retained,  but 
expressed  a  more  hopeful  opinion  of  the  outcome 
of  the  case  than  any  one  else  had  ventured. 

The  situation  certainly  did  not  justify  opti- 
mism, for  the  prisoner,  William  Armstrong,  gen- 

95 


LINCOLN 

erally  known  as  "Duff,"  was  a  youth  of  bad  repu- 
tation, identified  with  about  as  notorious  a  gang 
of  roughs  as  ever  brought  discredit  on  any  neigh- 
borhood. Worst  of  all,  one  of  his  associates  had 
already  been  convicted  of  manslaughter  on  cir- 
cumstantial evidence  connecting  him  with  Metz- 
ker's  death,  and  public  indignation  in  the  neigh- 
borhood ran  strongly  against  the  accused. 
Indeed,  his  lawyer,  believing  that  the  young 
man  could  not  receive  a  fair  trial  in  Mason 
County,  had  applied  for  and  obtained  an  order 
transferring  the  case  to  Cass  County,  where  local 
prejudice  would  be  less  likely  to  prevail. 

All  this  was  serious  enough,  but  another  diffi- 
culty confronted  Lincoln.  The  existing  Illinois 
law  did  not  permit  a  prisoner  to  testify 
in  his  own  defense,  and  it  would  therefore 
be  impossible  for  him  to  take  the  stand  and  con- 
tradict the  prosecutor's  witnesses.  Altogether, 
the  outlook  was  anything  but  cheerful. 

As  a  rule,  circuit  lawyers  did  not  examine 
jurors  very  closely  as  to  their  qualifications  or 
prejudices.  It  was  not  even  customary,  as  it  is 
to-day,  for  counsel  to  inquire  whether  the  jury- 

96 


FAMOUS   CASES 

men  were  personally  acquainted  with  any  of  the 
attorneys  in  the  case.  Indeed,  on  one  occasion 
when  an  opponent  tried  that  with  Lincoln  he 
considered  it  a  personal  affront  and  retaliated 
by  entering  into  a  minute  examination  of  each 
talesman  to  discover  whether  he  knew  the  lawyer 
who  had  been  questioning  them. 

"Come,  come,  Mr.  Lincoln,"  interrupted  the 
judge  impatiently.  "Don't  let  us  waste  time. 
You  know  perfectly  well  that  no  juror  is  dis- 
qualified simply  because  he  happens  to  know 
your  adversary." 

"I'm  well  aware  of  that,  Your  Honor," 
drawled  Lincoln.  "But  what  I  am  afraid  of  is 
that  some  of  them  may  not  know  him." 

But  in  the  Armstrong  case  Lincoln  did  not 
follow  his  usual  practice  of  accepting  the  first 
twelve  talesmen  that  entered  the  jury  box.  On 
the  contrary,  he  examined  them  carefully  and 
was  not  satisfied  until  he  had  secured  a  group  of 
men  whose  average  age  was  not  over  twenty-five. 
The  first  witnesses  called  by  the  prosecutor  came 
from  New  Salem  and,  in  cross-examining,  Lin- 
coln let  them  know  he  was  well  acquainted  with 
their  town  and  their  relatives,   and  grew  so 

97 


LINCOLN 

friendly  with  them  that  their  testimony  did  no 
particular  damage  to  the  prisoner.  But  the 
situation  suddenly  changed  when  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Allen  took  the  stand  and  declared  that 
he  had  actually  seen  Armstrong  strike  down 
Metzker  with  a  slug-shot.  This  testimony  was  a 
complete  surprise,  for  it  had  been  supposed  that 
there  were  no  eyewitnesses  of  the  crime.  Every- 
thing therefore  depended  on  Allen's  cross-exami- 
nation. If  his  story  remained  unshaken  a  con- 
viction was  almost  certain,  and  when  Lincoln  rose 
to  question  him  he  knew  that  the  critical  moment 
had  arrived. 

What  was  the  exact  hour  at  which  the  witness 
had  observed  the  scene  he  had  described?  Eleven 
o'clock  at  night?  .  .  .  Well,  did  he  mean  to  tell 
the  jury  that  in  the  darkness,  and  almost  at  the 
dead  of  night,  he  recognized  the  prisoner  beyond 
the  possibility  of  mistake?  It  was  not  dark? 
Where  did  the  light  come  from?  The  moon? 
...  A  full  moon?  .  .  .  Nearly  full?  What 
was  its  position  in  the  sky?  .  .  .  About  where 
the  sun  would  be  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning? 
...  So  it  was  the  light  of  the  nearly  full  moon 
that  enabled  him  to  identify  Armstrong?    Yes? 

98 


FAMOUS   CASES 

And  he  couldn't  have  done  so  except  for  the 
moon?    Exactly!  .  .  . 

Lincoln  then  drew  from  his  pocket  a  calendar 
which  showed  that  on  the  night  of  the  murder  the 
moon,  far  from  being  full,  was  only  in  its  first 
quarter,  and  that  at  eleven  o'clock  it  shed  little 
or  no  light,  having  almost  set. 

The  witness  left  the  stand  completely  dis- 
credited, and  from  that  moment  the  case  was 
over.    A  verdict  of  acquittal  followed. 

This  familiar  story  would  scarcely  bear  retell- 
ing were  it  not  that  it  has  given  rise  to  one  of  the 
silliest  slanders  ever  uttered  concerning  Lincoln. 
It  has  been  said,  and  frequently  repeated  by 
irresponsible  tongues,  that  Lincoln  deceived  the 
jury  by  using  a  calendar  of  another  year  and  not 
that  of  the  murder  date.  To  lawyers  who  know 
that  the  authenticity  of  such  a  document  would 
have  to  be  proved  and  that  it  would  be  scrutinized 
by  the  judge,  the  jury  and  the  prosecutor,  any 
such  statement,  is,  of  course,  preposterous  on  its 
face.  But  there  are  people  to  whose  long  ears 
such  an  impossible  trick  sounds  like  "smart  tac- 
tics." They  apparently  relish  the  idea  that  Lin- 
coln's conscience  was  as  crooked  as  their  own. 

99 


LINCOLN 

So  the  senseless  rumor  still  persists.  To  dispose 
of  it  for  all  time,  the  writer  has  procured  from 
the  United  States  Naval  Observatory  at  Wash- 
ington an  official  certificate  that  on  August  29, 
1857,  the  moon  was  in  its  first  quarter  and  set  at 
12:07  midnight,  precisely  as  Lincoln  claimed. 

The  other  murder  case  associated  with  Lin- 
coln's early  life  involved  the  grandson  of  old 
Peter  Cartwright  who  had  opposed  him  in  his 
campaign  for  Congress.  There  was  nothing  par- 
ticularly dramatic  about  it,  but  it  was  a  difficult 
case  to  defend,  as  the  prisoner  admitted  the  kill- 
ing, and  the  only  question  was  whether  it  had 
been  a  deliberate  murder  or  the  result  of  a  fight. 
The  old  Methodist  preacher  begged  his  former 
adversary  to  defend  his  grandson,  and  Lincoln 
consented  to  do  so.  The  notable  feature  of  the 
trial  was  the  array  of  counsel  that  conducted  it. 
The  prosecutors  were  John  M.  Palmer,  who 
later  became  the  Governor  of  Illinois,  and  John 
McClernand,  destined  to  become  one  of  the  most 
widely  known  generals  in  the  Civil  War.  The 
defense  included  Lincoln  and  William  Herndon, 
his  partner;  Judge  Stephen  Logan,  his  former 
partner  and  legal  mentor,  and  Shelby  Cullom,  a 

100 


FAMOUS   CASES 

future  United  States  senator  from  Illinois  and  a 
governor  of  the  state. 

The  prisoner's  acquittal  after  a  hard  struggle 
demonstrated  Lincoln's  extraordinary  effective- 
ness with  a  jury,  for  it  was  unquestionably  his 
closing  address  that  succeeded  in  clearing  his 
client. 

As  has  been  stated,  Lincoln  rarely  allowed  his 
civil  practice  to  be  interfered  with  by  retainers  in 
the  criminal  courts,  and  some  idea  of  his  legal 
experience  may  be  gained  by  the  fact  that  he  con- 
ducted over  a  hundred  and  seventy-two  cases  be- 
fore the  highest  tribunal  of  Illinois — a  record 
among  the  lawyers  then  practicing  in  the  state. 
Compared  with  the  remuneration  of  modern  at- 
torneys he  was  poorly  compensated,  for  at  no 
time  did  he  earn  much  more  than  was  necessary 
to  meet  the  very  modest  expenses  of  his  family, 
and  owned  scarcely  any  property  when  he  re- 
tired from  the  profession.  But  several  of  the 
legal  controversies  which  he  conducted  estab- 
lished precedents  that  settled  the  law  of  his  state 
and  are  quoted  in  judicial  opinions  to  this  day. 

An  amusing  illustration  of  how  widely  his  serv- 
ices were  in  demand  appears  in  a  letter  addressed 

101 


LINCOLN 

to  him  by  a  prominent  Democratic  lawyer  re- 
questing him  to  act  as  counsel  in  an  important 
litigation.  "I  ought  to  and  must  gain  this  case," 
wrote  the  attorney.  "I  want  you  to  'undoubt' 
the  Judge.  If  you  can  be  the  means  of  doing  this 
you  will  almost  bring  me  under  an  obligation  to 
support  the  'Black  Republicans.'  " 


w 


CHAPTER  XXI 

INTERRUPTION 

HILE  Lincoln  was  busily  engaged  with 
the  courts  and  juries — so  busily  that  he 
had  scarcely  noted  the  shadows  of  coming  politi- 
cal events — a  bill  was  introduced  in  the  United 
States  Senate  by  Douglas  which  startled  the 
whole  country. 

Stephen  Douglas  had  traveled  far  on  the  road 
to  fame  since  he  and  Lincoln  had  first  encoun- 
tered one  another  at  the  state  capital  in  1834. 
Both  were  then  at  the  very  outset  of  their  careers, 
almost  friendless  and  absolutely  penniless.  But 
while  Lincoln  was  serving  his  brief  and  very 
modest  apprenticeship  in  public  life,  Douglas 
had  been  rushing  from  one  political  honor  to  an- 
other. At  the  age  of  twenty-three  he  had  been 
elected  to  the  Illinois  Legislature;  at  twenty- 
eight  he  became  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court; 
at  thirty  he  had  won  a  seat  in  Congress,  and  at 
thirty-three  had  become  the  Democratic  United 
States  senator  from  Illinois. 

103 


LINCOLN 

Nothing  daunted  him,  and  the  Senate,  which 
sometimes  suppresses  youthful  enthusiasm,  did 
not  awe  him  in  the  least.  On  the  contrary,  he 
soon  forced  himself  into  the  limelight  and  rapidly 
acquired  a  national  reputation,  shedding  a  re- 
flected glory  on  Illinois,  which  proudly  hailed 
him  as  "the  little  Giant"  and  made  him  its  local 
hero.  But  it  was  not  only  his  home  constituents 
that  were  impressed  by  his  ability.  The  Demo- 
cratic leaders  of  the  Senate  soon  discovered  that 
he  must  be  reckoned  with  in  all  matters  of  party 
policy,  and  more  or  less  admitted  him  to  their 
confidence.  Coming  from  a  free  state,  he  was 
not  wholly  trusted  by  the  political  agents  of  the 
slave  power,  but  it  was  obvious  that  he  had  influ- 
ence with  the  troublesome  minority  and  might  be 
used  to  good  advantage  if  properly  handled. 
Opportunities  to  prove  this  were  not  wanting, 
but  the  supreme  test  came  when  the  plan  to  re- 
peal the  Missouri  Compromise  developed,  for 
he  was,  perhaps,  the  only  member  of  the  Senate 
who  could  have  introduced  such  a  measure  with 
any  hope  of  success,  and  certainly  the  only  sena- 
tor from  a  free  state  that  would  have  dared  to  do 
so.    Even  for  a  popular  idol  it  was  a  dangerous 

104 


INTERRUPTION 

move,  for  all  who  opposed  the  extension  of  slav- 
ery, including  many  Democrats,  regarded  the 
Missouri  Compromise  as  the  bulwark  of  their 
liberties. 

Douglas,  however,  balanced  the  possible  gain 
against  the  loss  and  did  not  find  it  wanting  in  the 
furtherance  of  his  ambition  to  become  the  stand- 
ard-bearer of  his  party.  Nor  was  it  unreasonable 
to  expect  that  his  services  would  be  rewarded, 
for  the  proponents  of  slavery  considered  the 
Compromise  as  the  main  stumbling-block  in  their 
path  and  to  him  who  removed  it  nothing  could 
fairly  be  denied. 

The  Missouri  Compromise,  it  must  be  remem- 
bered, dated  from  1820,  originating  in  the  effort 
to  admit  Missouri  to  the  Union  as  a  slave  state. 
To  effect  this  without  cost  proved  impossible  and 
the  price  paid  took  the  form  of  a  solemn  agree- 
ment that  slavery  should  thereafter  be  abso- 
lutely excluded  from  all  territory  lying  north 
of  thirty-six  degrees  thirty  minutes.  This  vir- 
tually insured  the  vast  domain  of  the  North- 
west, included  in  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  against 
the  extension  of  slavery  and  the  compromise 
was   expected   to   effect   a   final   and   satisfac- 

105 


LINCOLN 

tory  settlement  of  the  whole  slavery  issue.  But 
that  hope  speedily  vanished  as  one  territory  after 
another  from  the  Northwest  applied  for  admis- 
sion to  the  Union  and  entered  it  as  free  states 
with  votes  that  threatened  to  extinguish  the  slav- 
ery party's  control  of  Congress.  The  Mexican 
war  had  offered  a  rare  opportunity  for  at  least 
postponing  the  day  of  reckoning,  but  its  net  re- 
sults proved  disappointing.  Of  the  conquered 
territory  California  had  to  be  conceded  as  a  free 
state  and  the  boundaries  of  Texas  diminished  to 
overcome  the  growing  antislavery  opposition,  but 
this  time  neither  party  cherished  any  illusions 
about  the  adjustment.  It  was,  at  best,  a  truce 
which  merely  lasted  until  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
applied  for  admission  to  the  Union,  when  the 
leading  free  state  men  voted  solidly  to  exclude 
them  unless  they  excluded  slavery. 

In  the  bitter  struggle  that  followed  Douglas 
evolved  his  doctrine  of  "popular  sovereignty"  by 
which  each  of  the  proposed  states  should  be  per- 
mitted to  decide  by  the  vote  of  its  people  whether 
it  would  or  would  not  tolerate  slavery  within  its 
limits,  and  that  all  future  states  should  have  the 
same  privilege  accorded  them  by  repealing  the 

106 


INTERRUPTION 

Missouri  Compromise.  This  was  the  sum  and 
substance  of  the  bill  he  proposed  in  the  Senate. 
It  raised  a  storm  of  protest  and  encountered  the 
most  violent  opposition  which  any  administrative 
measure  had  met  for  many  a  year.  Nevertheless, 
he  engineered  it  with  such  skill  that  it  became  a 
law  in  1854. 

The  announcement  of  this  triumph  of 
the  pro-slavery  party  aroused  Lincoln  from 
his  legal  studies.  When  the  news  reached  him  on 
the  circuit  he  happened  to  be  sharing  quarters 
with  Judge  Dickey,  a  fellow  member  of  the  bar. 
Dickey  relates  that  he  began  discussing  the  situa- 
tion as  soon  as  they  had  retired  to  their  bedroom 
and  continued  talking  anxiously  about  it  until  his 
roommate  became  exhausted  and  fell  asleep.  But 
Lincoln  must  have  wrestled  with  the  subject  all 
night,  for  when  the  Judge  awoke,  his  companion 
was  still  seated  on  his  bed  plunged  in  thought 
and  apparently  oblivious  that  another  day  had 
dawned. 

"I  tell  you,  Dickey,"  he  announced,  as  though 
continuing  the  conversation  of  the  previous  eve- 
ning, "this  nation  cannot  exist  half  slave  and 
half  free." 

107 


LINCOLN 

That  phrase,  first  uttered  at  sunrise  after  a 
night  of  mental  travail,  embodied  the  guiding 
principle  of  Lincoln's  future  years.  The  life  of 
the  nation.  That  was  the  dominating  point  in 
the  controversy  over  slavery.  His  mind  traveled 
to  it  direct  as  light,  and  he  never  lost  sight  of  it 
in  conducting  the  great  cause  that  was  soon  to  be 
entrusted  to  his  keeping. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  GATHERING  STORM 

DOUGLAS  unquestionably  had  reason  to 
congratulate  himself  on  the  achievement 
of  a  great  personal  triumph.  He  had  dared 
while  others  doubted,  and  had  accomplished  a  re- 
sult generally  regarded  as  impossible.  The 
slavery  interests  wildly  acclaimed  him  and 
on  all  sides  he  was  flattered,  fawned  on  and  ex- 
ploited as  the  logical  Democratic  candidate  for 
the  presidency.  This,  of  course,  had  long  been 
the  dream  of  his  life,  but  if  he  cherished  any 
hope  that  it  would  be  easily  realized  he  was 
speedily  disillusioned  by  the  first  news  from  his 
own  state.  Illinois  had  greeted  his  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  with  a  roar  of  indignation. 
To  be  repudiated  by  his  own  constituents  might 
completely  ruin  his  chances  as  a  presidential 
possibility.  His  term  as  senator  would  soon 
expire  and  if  Illinois  did  not  reelect  him  he  would 
be  out  of  politics  at  the  most  critical  moment  of 
his  career.     No  man  rejected  by  his  own  state 

109 


LINCOLN 

could  aspire  to  national  honors.  It  is  not  sur- 
prising that  "the  little  Giant"  hurried  home  to 
"repair  his  political  fences."  They  sorely  needed 
attention.  Chicago,  which  usually  welcomed  him 
with  cheers,  received  him  with  howls  of  execra- 
tion, and  for  a  time  refused  to  listen  to  the  ex- 
planations which  he  offered  for  his  action.  But 
Douglas  was  not  the  sort  of  man  to  be  howled 
down,  and  no  one  understood  better  than  he  did 
the  psychology  of  the  crowd.  He  accordingly 
began  a  tour  of  the  state,  making  adroit  speeches 
at  every  stopping  place  with  such  success  that  he 
rapidly  regained  the  public  confidence,  until  he 
reached  Springfield.  There  his  triumphal  prog- 
ress received  an  unexpected  check,  for  Lincoln 
was  on  hand  and  answered  his  arguments  in  a 
speech  of  such  searching  logic  and  force  that  his 
theory  of  "popular  sovereignty"  was  once  more 
under  fire.  The  next  day,  however,  he  spoke 
again  with  all  his  characteristic  charm  and  per- 
suasiveness, only  to  find  that  Lincoln  had  fol- 
lowed him.  The  result  was  another  decimating 
speech  which  relentlessly  tore  his  plausible  argu- 
ments to  pieces  and  renewed  the  popular  clamor 
against  him. 

110 


THE  GATHERING  STORM 

Up  to  that  moment  it  is  highly  probable  that 
"the  little  Giant"  had  never  considered  Lincoln 
seriously  and,  least  of  all,  as  a  political  opponent. 
Of  course  everybody  knew  that  he  belonged  to 
the  Whig  party,  the  only  organization  which  even 
challenged  the  Democratic  sway  in  Illinois.  But 
he  had  never  been  very  prominent  in  its  councils 
and  had  apparently  retired  from  public  life  to 
immerse  himself  in  the  career  of  a  country  law- 
yer. Why  had  he  suddenly  reappeared?  He  was 
not  running  for  office  and  had  nothing  to  gain 
by  dogging  the  footsteps  of  a  public  man.  Was 
he  preparing  to  contest  for  the  Illinois  senator- 
ship  ?  That  did  not  seem  reasonable  with  no  elec- 
tion impending  for  almost  two  years.  But  what- 
ever his  reasons  were  for  emerging  from  ob- 
scurity, he  was  decidedly  in  the  way. 

All  the  chances  are  that  Douglas  had  little  or 
no  direct  information  of  the  reputation  which  the 
country  practitioner  had  been  making  at  the  bar, 
since  he  had  devoted  himself  exclusively  to  his 
professional  duties.  But  if  so,  Lincoln's  first 
speech  enlightened  him.  Obviously,  he  had 
become  a  powerful  public  speaker  and  would  be 
a   dangerous   opponent — too   dangerous   to   be 

111 


LINCOLN 

trifled  with  or  ignored.  He  had  wit  and  humor ; 
but  of  that  the  senator  was  not  afraid.  He 
could  more  than  hold  his  own  with  any  plat- 
form give-and-take.  It  was  the  unerring  pre- 
cision with  which  the  man  picked  out  the  weak 
points  in  arguments  that  disturbed  him.  He  evi- 
dently had  one  of  those  single-track  minds  with 
which  a  facile  debater  finds  it  difficult  to  cope. 
Slavery  was  to  Douglas  merely  a  local  ques- 
tion to  be  decided  by  the  citizens  of  each  state 
and  he  did  not  care  "whether  it  was  voted  up  or 
down."  But  Lincoln  refused  to  accept  it  as  a 
local  issue.  He  kept  insisting  that  it  was  a  na- 
tional problem  for  the  existence  of  which  all  parts 
of  the  country  were  equally  responsible,  and  he 
had  a  convincing  way  of  presenting  his  point  to 
the  people.  Altogether  he  had  become  an  ad- 
versary worthy  of  any  man's  steel,  and,  if  not 
checked,  a  very  troublesome  one.  A  few  more 
speeches  like  those  he  had  delivered  might  prove 
very  expensive.  Douglas  therefore  proposed  a 
truce  by  offering  to  abandon  his  tour  if  Lincoln 
would  refrain  from  speaking  until  the  close  of 
the  pending  campaign.  It  cost  him  something  to 
make  the  suggestion,  but  Lincoln  gravely  ac- 

112 


THE   GATHERING   STORM 

cepted  it  and  for  the  moment  "the  little  Giant" 
breathed  easier.  He  had  other  things  to  think  of 
besides  his  local  political  fences. 

Lincoln's  speeches  had,  however,  already  had 
an  effect  in  Illinois  which  elected  an  anti-slavery 
legislature  and,  encouraged  by  this,  he  deter- 
mined to  reenter  politics.  The  easiest  way  to  do 
this  was  by  announcing  himself  as  a  candidate 
for  the  Legislature,  to  which  he  was  duly  elected 
in  November,  1854,  but  almost  immediately  re- 
signed to  enter  into  a  contest  for  the  senatorship 
about  to  become  vacant  by  the  retirement  of 
Douglas's  colleague.  On  the  first  ballot  it  looked 
as  though  he  would  certainly  be  chosen,  for  the 
Legislature  with  which  the  choice  lay  apparently 
favored  him.  Then  a  local  politician,  strongly 
suspected  of  pro-slavery  sentiments,  maneuvered 
to  secure  the  prize  and  might  have  succeeded  had 
all  his  opponents  remained  in  the  field.  Scenting 
this  danger,  as  he  had  done  in  his  first  effort  to 
secure  a  nomination  for  Congress,  Lincoln  ad- 
vised his  friends  to  throw  their  votes  to  Lyman 
Trumbull,  a  leading  candidate  and  a  fellow  mem- 
ber of  the  bar,  who  was  elected. 


113 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

THE  REPUBLICAN  PARTY 

HIS  brief  reentry  into  politics  had  not  seri- 
ously interfered  with  Lincoln's  law  prac- 
tice, and  he  returned  to  the  busiest  year  and  a 
half  of  his  professional  life.  Nevertheless,  he 
took  a  keen  interest  in  the  movement  which  had 
been  inaugurated  to  form  a  new  political  party. 
The  Whig  organization  with  which  he  had  al- 
ways been  associated  had  been  gradually  dying 
of  dry  rot  for  some  years  past  and  no  longer 
afforded  much  more  than  a  formal  opposition  to 
the  dominant  Democratic  party.  If,  however, 
the  remnants  of  the  Whigs,  the  free  state  men, 
the  Abolitionists  and  all  those  Democrats  who 
resented  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise 
could  be  united  to  oppose  the  extension  of  the 
slave  power,  there  was  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  plan  to  make  it  a  national  institution 
could  be  checked,  if  not  wholly  defeated. 

Lincoln  had  never  approved  of  the   Aboli- 
tionists and  had  invariably  held  aloof  from  them. 

114 


THE   REPUBLICAN    PARTY 

But  it  was  the  means  they  employed  and  advo- 
cated to  extinguish  slavery  with  which  he  dis- 
agreed and  not  the  end  that  they  had  in  view. 
Indeed,  there  were  many  factions  throughout  the 
country  that  were  basically  opposed  to  slavery 
in  principle,  but  as  long  as  they  differed  among 
themselves  as  to  the  best  method  of  attacking 
the  evil,  none  of  them  could  accomplish  anything. 
He  therefore  strongly  encouraged  the  formation 
of  the  Republican  party,  in  the  hope  that  it 
would  cause  all  the  warring  groups  to  lay  aside 
their  differences  and  unite  in  the  common  pur- 
pose of  fighting  against  the  extension  of  slavery. 
The  new  party  was  organized,  and  at  its  first 
convention  at  Bloomington,  Illinois,  on  May  29, 
1856,  Lincoln  made  the  chief  address.  Those 
who  were  aware  that  he  had  been  rapidly  de- 
veloping into  a  powerful  speaker  expected  that 
he  would  rise  to  the  occasion,  but  they  were  quite 
unprepared  for  the  masterful  oration  he  deliv- 
ered. No  copy  of  it  is  in  existence,  for  the  re- 
porters who  were  supposed  to  record  it  became  so 
absorbed  in  listening  to  the  inspired  speaker  that 
they  forgot  their  notes  and  the  address  has  be- 
come known  as  "the  lost  speech."    It  was  not, 

115 


LINCOLN 

however,  merely  Lincoln's  eloquence  that  held 
his  audience  spellbound.  It  was  his  grave  and 
earnest  announcement  that  the  critical  moment 
in  the  life  of  the  nation  was  at  hand  and  that 
those  who  wished  it  to  survive  must  make  every 
sacrifice  to  protect  it  from  the  forces  that  threat- 
ened its  destruction. 

That  warning  was  still  ringing  in  the  ears  of 
the  Republicans  when  they  assembled  a  month 
later  at  Philadelphia  to  nominate  their  candidate 
for  the  presidential  campaign  of  1856.  Lincoln 
was  engaged  with  his  duties  on  the  circuit  when 
this  event  occurred,  and  some  one  brought  him 
the  news  that  on  the  first  ballot  for  the  vice- 
presidency  he  had  received  110  votes.  He  merely 
laughed.  "It  can't  be  me  they're  voting  for," 
he  asserted.  "There's  another  great  man  of  the 
same  name  somewhere  in  Massachusetts.  It's 
probably  him." 

Very  likely  the  wish  was  father  to  the  thought, 
for  he  had  no  desire  to  be  named  for  the  vice- 
presidency.  And  he  was  not.  General  Fremont, 
one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  Northwest  who  had 
done  much  to  secure  California  as  a  free  state, 
received  the  nomination  for  the  presidency.     It 

116 


THE   REPUBLICAN    PARTY 

was  a  logical  choice,  but  no  one  supposed  that  the 
nominee  could,  by  any  possibility,  defeat  Bu- 
chanan, the  Democratic  candidate,  and  the  result 
of  the  election  was  a  foregone  conclusion — except 
in  one  respect.  The  newly  formed  Republican 
party,  not  then  organized  in  all  the  states,  polled 
no  less  than  1,300,000  votes.  It  was  an  astound- 
ing performance  and  no  one  realized  better  than 
the  political  agents  of  the  slave  power  that  an- 
other such  victory  would  destroy  them.  From 
that  hour  they  began  planning  the  dissolution  of 
the  Union. 

Meanwhile  an  event  had  been  happening  in 
Missouri  which,  in  the  opinion  of  some  people, 
bade  fair  to  settle  the  slavery  question  for  all 
time.  A  negro  by  the  name  of  Dred  Scott  had 
been  taken  by  his  owner  into  both  a  free  state 
and  a  territory  where  he  resided  for  several  years. 
This,  according  to  the  views  of  many  lawyers, 
emancipated  him,  for  having  once  touched  free 
soil,  not  as  a  runaway  but  with  the  consent  of  his 
owner,  it  was  contended  that  he  became  a  free 
man  by  force  of  law.  But  when  Scott  returned 
to  Missouri,  at  least  nominally  in  bondage,  a  test 
case  was  brought  in  the  courts  to  establish  his 

117 


LINCOLN 

status.  For  many  years  it  was  suspected  that 
the  case  had  a  political  origin  and  had  been  engi- 
neered to  secure  a  decision  declaring  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise  unconstitutional.  But  that 
has  now  been  absolutely  disproved.  Dred  Scott, 
it  is  true,  played  practically  no  part  in  the  efforts 
made  to  free  him,  but  certain  lawyers,  for  their 
own  purposes,  championed  him,  and  only  after 
the  lower  courts  had  ruled  against  them  and  an 
appeal  had  been  taken  to  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States  was  it  discovered  that  the  case 
had  political  possibilities.  And  it  had.  If  a  slave 
did  not  become  emancipated  by  being  taken  into 
a  territory  expressly  dedicated  to  freedom  by  the 
terms  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  there  was  no 
reason  why  slave-owners  might  not  import 
negroes  into  such  territory  and  control  them  as 
they  could  other  property,  thus  virtually  impos- 
ing slavery  upon  all  the  communities  supposed  to 
be  protected  from  it.  Were  this  to  happen 
Douglas's  theory  of  "popular  sovereignty"  was  a 
farce,  for  the  citizens  of  every  territory  would 
have  to  harbor  slavery  whether  they  "voted  it  up 
or  down."  The  moment  this  aspect  of  the  case 
was  realized  it  became  a  cause  celebre  and  emi- 

118 


THE   REPUBLICAN    PARTY 

nent  counsel  were  retained  to  argue  it  in  the  court 
of  last  resort.  The  decision,  rendered  shortly 
after  Buchanan's  election  by  a  majority  of  the 
judges,  declared  that  Dred  Scott  had  not  been 
emancipated  by  his  residence  in  a  territory,  be- 
cause the  Missouri  Compromise  was  unconsti- 
tutional. 

This  practically  legalized  slavery  and,  as  far 
as  the  ruling  of  a  court  could  do  so,  nationalized 
it.  But,  far  from  settling  the  issue  it  assumed  to 
determine,  it  flung  the  door  of  controversy  wide 
open. 


I 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE  CHALLENGE 

LLINOIS  lost  no  time  in  registering  an  em- 
phatic protest  against  the  Dred  Scott  de- 
cision, and  among  those  who  most  firmly  voiced 
it  was  Lincoln.  Nine  years  before  the  Supreme 
Court  made  its  ruling  in  that  case  he  had  acted 
as  counsel  for  a  slave-owner  named  Robert 
Matson,  who  had,  as  he  claimed,  temporarily 
brought  some  of  his  slaves  into  Illinois  from 
Kentucky.  The  negroes  took  refuge  with  an 
anti-slavery  family  in  Illinois  and  their  owner 
retained  Lincoln  to  recover  his  property.  On 
the  court  hearing  Judge  Willson  is  recorded  as 
having  asked  Lincoln  whether,  as  a  matter  of  law, 
he  thought  his  client  would  be  entitled  to  the 
possession  of  the  negroes,  if  it  should  appear  that 
he  had  brought  them  from  Kentucky  for  the 
purpose  of  working  them  on  free  soil  and  had  in 
fact  done  so.  Lincoln  at  once  admitted  that, 
under  such  circumstances,  the  slaves  would  be 
free  and  was  quite  severely  criticized  by  other 

120 


THE    CHALLENGE 

lawyers  for  having  "given  his  case  away."  But 
that  did  not  disturb  him  in  the  least.  If  his  client 
had  really  tried  to  import  slaves  into  a  free  state 
he  had  emancipated  them.  Of  that  he  had  no 
doubt.  To  argue  against  this  vital  principle  was 
no  part  of  his  professional  duty,  and  he  would 
not  do  it.  As  he  remarked  on  another  occasion, 
it  was  not  his  practice  to  defend  cases  in  which 
he  disbelieved.  "If  I  did,"  he  asserted,  "I'd  not 
only  be  thinking  all  the  while  'Lincoln,  you're  a 
liar!'  but  forget  myself  and  say  it  out  loud." 

It  is  no  wonder,  then,  that  he  resented  the 
Dred  Scott  decision  which  was  hailed  by  all  free 
state  men  as  a  violation  of  their  most  sacred 
rights.  Moreover,  there  were  indications  that 
the  dissatisfaction  was  not  confined  to  Re- 
publicans. The  Democrats  showed  distinct 
signs  of  restiveness.  So  much  so  that  Douglas 
again  hastened  to  Springfield,  where  he  de- 
nounced the  critical  spirit  which  was  encourag- 
ing a  defiance  of  the  law.  The  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States  was,  he  declared,  the 
tribunal  of  last  resort  and  when  it  had  determined 
an  issue  duly  submitted  to  it  all  good  citizens 
should  abide  by  the  result.    To  do  otherwise,  he 

121 


LINCOLN 

insisted,  showed  a  traitorous  disregard  of  the  con- 
stituted authorities  if  not  a  contempt  of  court  of 
which  no  one,  and  particularly  lawyers  who  were 
officers  of  the  court,  should  permit  themselves  to 
be  guilty.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  this  tirade  con- 
vinced any  one,  for  it  was,  at  best,  an  admoni- 
tion to  the  people  to  stop  thinking.  Apparently 
Douglas  had  done  so,  for  he  avoided  discussing 
the  merits  of  the  case  and  seemed  to  agree  with 
the  cynic  who  remarked  that  the  most  important 
thing  about  legal  controversies  is  not  whether 
they  are  rightly  or  wrongly  decided,  but  that 
they  have  been  decided. 

It  was,  however,  in  no  spirit  of  levity — cynical 
or  otherwise — that  Lincoln  answered  the  attack. 
On  the  contrary,  he  assumed  Douglas  to  be 
perfectly  sincere  in  deploring  what  he  deemed 
a  defiance  of  the  law  and  wished  only  to  re- 
assure him.  The  answer  was  a  masterpiece  of 
clear  statement,  so  simple  that  a  child  could  com- 
prehend it,  so  complete  that  it  covered  every 
phase  of  the  subject,  and  so  logical  that  it  con- 
vinced. In  fact,  it  was  precisely  the  sort  of  quiet, 
admonitory  utterance  which  had  already  caused 
Douglas  to  declare  that  "Lincoln  gave  him  more 

122 


THE   CHALLENGE 

trouble  than  all  the  Abolitionists  put  together." 
He  could  handle  a  bellicose  ranter  to  perfection. 
But  confronted  by  a  calm  judicial  critic  who  re- 
fused to  be  ruffled  by  personal  allusions  and 
searched  out  the  very  soul  of  an  issue,  he  was 
never  at  his  best. 

We  believe  as  much  as  Judge  Douglas  in 
obedience  to  and  respect  for  the  judicial  depart- 
ment of  the  government  [Lincoln  asserted], 
but  we  think  the  Dred  Scott  decision  is  er- 
roneous. We  know  that  the  Court  that  made  it 
has  often  overruled  its  own  decisions,  and  we 
shall  do  our  best  to  have  it  overrule  this  one.  We 
offer  no  resistance  to  it.  If  this  important  de- 
cision had  been  made  by  the  unanimous  concur- 
rence of  the  Judges  and  without  any  apparent 
partisan  bias,  and  in  accordance  with  legal  public 
expectation  and  the  steady  practice  of  the  de- 
partments throughout  our  history,  and  had  been, 
in  no  part,  based  on  assumed  historical  facts 
which  are  not  really  true,  or,  if  wanting  in  some 
of  these,  it  had  been  before  the  Court  more  than 
once  and  had  been  affirmed  and  reaffirmed 
through  a  course  of  years,  it  then  might  be,  and 
perhaps  would  be  factious — nay,  even  revolu- 
tionary, not  to  acquiesce  in  it  as  a  precedent.  But 
when,  as  is  true,  we  find  it  wanting  in  all  these 

123 


LINCOLN 

claims  to  the  public  confidence  it  is  not  resistance, 
it  is  not  factious,  it  is  not  even  disrespectful  to 
treat  it  as  not  having  yet  quite  established  a  set- 
tled doctrine  for  the  country. 

In  his  heart  of  hearts  Douglas  probably  did 
not  approve  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  He  was 
too  intelligent  not  to  realize  that  it  virtually  dis- 
posed of  his  cherished  "popular  sovereignty"  doc- 
trine. In  championing  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri 
Compromise  he  had  gone  a  long  way  to  satisfy 
his  Democratic  colleagues  and  the  Dred  Scott 
decision  had  carried  him  a  bit  further  than  he 
intended.  But  when  the  political  agents  of  slav- 
ery attempted  to  push  him  into  voting  for  the 
admission  of  Kansas  as  a  slave  state  without  any 
direct  mandate  from  its  citizens,  he  balked.  In- 
deed, his  resistance  was  so  firm  that  it  inspired 
Horace  Greeley,  the  editor  of  the  New  York 
Tribune,  and  other  influential  friends  of  the  new 
party  to  advise  the  Illinois  Republicans  not  to 
contest  his  reelection.  But  they  emphatically 
refused  to  do  anything  of  the  sort.  Douglas, 
they  contended,  was,  at  best,  utterly  indifferent 
to  the  extension  of  slavery  and  could  not  possibly 

124 


THE   CHALLENGE 

be  endorsed  by  the  party  pledged  to  oppose  it. 
Almost  defiantly,  on  June  16,  1858,  they  placed 
Lincoln  in  the  field  against  him. 

The  nominee  promptly  accepted  the  call  in  an 
address  which  caused  something  very  like  a  panic 
among  the  local  politicians,  to  whom  it  was  confi- 
dentially submitted.  The  voters  would  be  fright- 
ened by  such  views,  they  declared.  All  talk  about 
the  dissolution  of  the  Union  should  be  sup- 
pressed. In  spite  of  these  warnings  Lincoln  re- 
fused to  change  the  speech.  Its  keynote  was  the 
nation. 

"A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand" 
[he  quoted].  I  believe  this  government  cannot 
endure  half  slave  and  half  free.  I  do  not  expect 
the  Union  to  be  dissolved — I  do  not  expect  the 
house  to  fall — but  I  do  expect  it  will  cease  to  be 
divided.  It  will  become  all  one  thing  or  all  the 
other.  Either  the  opponents  of  slavery  will  ar- 
rest the  further  spread  of  it,  and  place  it  where 
the  public  mind  shall  rest  in  the  belief  that  it  is 
in  the  course  of  ultimate  extinction,  or  its  advo- 
cates will  push  it  forward  till  it  shall  become  alike 
lawful  in  all  the  states,  old  as  well  as  new,  North 
as  well  as  South. 

125 


LINCOLN 

From  that  moment  Lincoln  laid  aside  his  law 
work  and  his  first  move  in  the  campaign — the 
most  notable  election  contest  in  the  history  of 
the  United  States — was  to  challenge  his  oppo- 
nent to  debate  the  issue  openly  before  the  people. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

THE  DEBATES 

DOUGLAS  did  not  relish  his  adversary's 
proposal.  His  plan  of  campaign  had  been 
to  shepherd  the  wavering  members  of  his  own 
party  who  would  doubtless  attend  his  meetings 
in  the  hope  of  hearing  something  to  strengthen 
their  allegiance.  But  it  was  quite  another  matter 
to  address  gatherings  of  friends  and  foes  in  the 
presence  of  an  opponent  ready  to  expose  even  the 
slightest  slip.  Moreover,  he  had  become  con- 
vinced that  Lincoln  knew  the  sort  of  audience 
that  would  attend  the  meetings  better  than  he 
did.  It  would  be  composed  of  just  the  type  of 
men  he  had  been  confronting  as  jurors  on  the 
circuit — intelligent,  honest,  serious  farmers  and 
plain  people  gifted  with  more  common  sense  than 
sense  of  humor  and  quite  capable  of  resenting 
any  attempt  to  turn  the  debate  into  an  amusing 
spectacle.  Tricks  of  oratory  and  quick  repartee 
would  not  satisfy  solid,  solemn  country  folks 
looking  for  information  and  not  entertainment. 

127 


LINCOLN 

It  was  anything  but  an  inviting  prospect.  But 
it  could  not  safely  be  avoided.  If  he  refused  to 
discuss  the  issues  with  his  rival,  the  voters  might 
think  he  was  afraid  to  do  so  and  repudiate  him  at 
the  polls.  If  he  accepted  the  challenge,  it  would 
give  Lincoln  a  wider  hearing  than  he  would  other- 
wise receive,  but  the  Democrats  outnumbered 
the  Republicans  in  Illinois  and  the  chances  were 
that  the  majority  of  those  who  attended  the  de- 
bates would  be  his  constituents.  On  the  whole, 
there  seemed  to  be  less  risk  in  meeting  the  enemy 
than  in  declining  battle.  He  therefore  picked 
up  the  gauntlet  that  Lincoln  had  thrown  down. 

Arrangements  were  accordingly  made  for 
seven  meetings,  so  scheduled  as  to  cover  the  en- 
tire state  at  intervals  of  about  a  week,  and  no 
events  in  the  past  history  of  Illinois  ever  at- 
tracted such  throngs.  As  in  the  days  of  the 
Boonville  Court  when  whole  neighborhoods  laid 
aside  their  vocations  and  flocked  to  hear  the  cir- 
cuit riders,  so  every  one  within  reach  of  Ottawa, 
Freeport,  Galesburg,  Quincy,  Charleston,  Alton 
and  Jonesboro,  traveled  to  the  joint  meetings 
of  Lincoln  and  Douglas.  There  was  no  building 
in  any  of  those  towns  capable  of  accommodating 

128 


THE   DEBATES 

even  a  small  percentage  of  the  audiences  that 
assembled;  therefore  all  the  debates  had  to  be 
held  in  the  open.  They  were,  as  Douglas  had 
foreseen,  attended  by  people  who  had  come  to 
listen,  learn  and  make  up  their  minds,  no  small 
part  of  whom  were  quite  willing  to  be  persuaded 
by  the  man  who  was  unquestionably  the  popular 
hero  of  the  state. 

In  the  printed  form  in  which  the  debates 
have  passed  into  history  they  do  not  make  ex- 
citing reading.  Nor  were  they  intended  to  create 
thrills.  It  was  the  personality  of  the  speakers 
that  enthralled  the  crowds.  Yet  in  the  second 
debate  at  Freeport  a  dramatic  incident  occurred, 
the  full  force  of  which  was  probably  lost  on  the 
audience,  and  certainly  missed  by  Douglas.  But 
not  by  Lincoln,  and  most  assuredly  not  by  the 
political  agents  of  slavery  who,  hundreds  of  miles 
away,  were  carefully  watching  for  any  signs  of 
weakness  that  their  prospective  presidential  can- 
didate might  display. 

At  the  opening  debate  at  Ottawa,  Douglas 
asked  Lincoln  seven  questions,  challenging  him 
to  reply  to  them  at  their  next  meeting  at  Free- 
port.     They  were  carelessly  framed  and  might 

129 


LINCOLN 

all  have  been  answered  by  a  simple  negative.  But 
the  trained  lawyer  to  whom  they  were  addressed 
had  no  intention  of  taking  advantage  of  the  situa- 
tion. He  saw  a  far  better  method  of  handling 
it  and  informed  his  friends  that  he  would  reply 
fully  and  frankly,  but  seize  the  opportunity  to 
put  four  questions  to  Douglas.  This  somewhat 
alarmed  his  adherents,  for  they  knew  Douglas 
was  a  quick  thinker  and  would  probably  gain 
more  than  he  lost  by  the  catechism.  Three  of 
Lincoln's  proposed  questions  seemed  safe  enough, 
but  the  other  one — the  second — raised  a  storm  of 
protest.  It  read:  ecCan  the  people  of  a  United 
States  territory  in  any  lawful  way,  against  the 
wish  of  any  citizen  of  the  United  States,  exclude 
slavery  from  its  limits  prior  to  the  formation  of  a 
State  Constitution?" 

If  Douglas  answered  "Yes"  he  would  virtually 
assure  the  voters  that  there  was  a  way  to  protect 
themselves  against  the  introduction  of  slavery, 
in  spite  of  the  Dred  Scott  decision.  If  he  re- 
sponded in  the  negative  it  would  practically  ad- 
vise Illinois  that  it  was  hopeless  to  exclude 
slavery.  Of  course  he  would  not  do  that,  asserted 
Lincoln's  confidants.    He  would  tell  them  there 

130 


THE   DEBATES 

was  a  way  to  evade  the  Dred  Scott  case,  and  they 
would  believe  him  and  the  election  would  be 
over.  But  Lincoln  insisted,  despite  such  ob- 
jections, that  the  question  must  be  put  just  as  he 
had  framed  it.  He  knew  that  no  man  in 
Douglas's  position  could,  with  impunity,  repu- 
diate the  Dred  Scott  decision  on  which  the  slave 
interests  of  the  Democratic  party  pinned  their 
faith.  That  embarrassment,  however,  seemed  re- 
mote to  the  Illinois  Republicans,  and  when  their 
candidate  remained  fixed  in  his  intention  to  risk 
the  fateful  query,  one  of  them  angrily  exclaimed, 
"If  you  do,  you'll  never  be  a  senator!" 

"If  Douglas  answers,"  Lincoln  calmly  re- 
sponded, "he  can  never  be  President." 

The  next  day  when  he  rose  to  meet  Douglas's 
questions  his  only  fear  was  that  his  opponent 
would  escape  him  by  remaining  silent,  and  he 
handled  the  situation  with  great  adroitness.  He 
first  read  the  queries  that  had  been  addressed  to 
him  and  then,  looking  straight  at  his  audience, 
watched  it  as  though  it  were  a  jury. 

"I  will  answer  these  interrogatories,"  he  an- 
nounced, "upon  the  condition  that  Judge 
Douglas  will  answer  questions  from  me." 

131 


LINCOLN 

Had  Douglas  leaped  from  his  chair  and  ac- 
cepted the  challenge  it  might  have  saved  him. 
But  he  made  no  response  and  his  adversary  al- 
lowed the  crowd  to  wait  in  breathless  silence  as 
he  studied  their  faces. 

"The  Judge  remains  silent,"  he  continued 
gravely.  "I  now  say  I  will  answer  his  interroga- 
tories whether  he  answers  mine  or  not.  But 
after  I  have  done  so  I  shall  propound  mine  to 
him." 

It  took  but  a  few  moments  to  respond  to 
Douglas's  questions,  which  were  answered  fully 
and  frankly.  Then  the  fateful  moment  arrived 
and  the  skillful  cross-examiner  put  the  queries 
upon  which  he  had  determined.  There  was  no 
alternative  for  Douglas.  To  remain  silent  would 
be  suicidal.  To  tell  the  voters  of  Illinois  that 
slavery  was  hopelessly  nationalized  would  lose  the 
election.  He  therefore  replied  to  the  second  ques- 
tion by  saying  that  slavery  could  still  be  excluded, 
notwithstanding  the  Dred  Scott  decision,  by 
adopting  police  regulations  so  hostile  to  slave- 
owners as  to  prohibit  them  from  bringing  their 
property  into  free  territory. 

132 


THE  DEBATES 

Lincoln's  friends  were  right.  That  answer 
satisfied  his  constituents  and  probably  elected 
Douglas.  But  he  was  to  hear  from  it  again  at  no 
distant  day  and  in  no  uncertain  terms. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

A  FORTUNATE  DEFEAT 

DOUGLAS  was  greatly  elated  by  his  re- 
election to  the  Senate  and  he  certainly  had 
scored  a  personal  triumph.  Indeed,  it  was  solely 
his  local  popularity  that  saved  him.  In  those 
days  senators  were  not  elected  by  vote  of  the 
people,  but  were  chosen  by  the  Legislature. 
It  is  therefore  uncertain  whether  the  majority  of 
the  voters  favored  Lincoln  or  Douglas,  for  no 
ballots  were  directly  cast  for  either  of  them,  but 
merely  for  the  legislative  candidates  supposed  to 
favor  one  or  the  other  senatorial  nominee. 
Enough  of  Douglas's  supporters  in  the  Legisla- 
ture were,  however,  successful  in  the  campaign 
to  give  him  a  majority  of  eight  votes  in  that  body. 
It  was  a  narrow  margin  in  a  state  that  had  been 
generally  regarded  as  a  Democratic  stronghold, 
and  "the  little  Giant"  was  the  only  candidate  of 
his  party  that  escaped  defeat,  for  the  Republicans 
made  enormous  gains,  electing  their  state  ticket 
by  handsome  pluralities. 

Of  course  the  result  was  a  keen  disappointment 
134 


A   FORTUNATE   DEFEAT 

to  Lincoln,  but  he  took  it  philosophically.  To 
one  of  his  friends  who  asked  whether  he  was 
greatly  concerned  at  the  outcome,  he  replied  that 
he  felt  like  the  boy  who  had  stubbed  his  toe.  It 
hurt  too  much  to  be  laughed  away,  but  he  was  too 
big  to  cry  about  it.  Yet  he  realized  that  his 
labors  had  not  been  entirely  in  vain,  and  ex- 
pressed himself  as  well  satisfied  that  he  had  made 
no  mistake  in  undertaking  the  campaign.  "It 
gave  me  a  hearing  on  the  great  and  durable  ques- 
tion of  the  age  which  I  could  have  had  in  no  other 
way,"  he  wrote,  "and  though  I  now  sink  out  of 
view  and  shall  be  forgotten,  I  believe  I  have  made 
marks  which  will  tell  for  the  cause  of  civil  liberty 
long  after  I  am  gone." 

Nevertheless,  'the  struggle  had  embarrassed 
him  financially.  He  had  been  able  to  earn  noth- 
ing for  six  months  and  found  himself  at  the  close 
of  the  contest  with  insufficient  funds  to  pay  even 
his  household  expenses.  He  therefore  lost  no 
time  in  resuming  his  circuit  practice,  flinging 
himself  into  the  work  with  such  energy  and  suc- 
cess that  he  had  no  opportunity  to  do  more  than 
note  and  deplore  John  Brown's  fanatical  raid  on 
Virginia   to   free    its    slaves — an   event    which 

135 


LINCOLN 

roused  the  Commonwealth  to  fury  and  made 
Brown  a  martyr  to  every  Abolitionist.  In  fact, 
the  only  interruption  which  his  legal  duties  per- 
mitted was  a  brief  visit  in  February,  1860,  to 
New  York  City,  where  he  delivered  an  address 
at  Cooper  Union. 

Up  to  that  moment  New  York  had  heard  of 
Lincoln  only  as  a  self-educated,  rustic  lawyer 
with  a  backwoods  "gift  of  gab,"  who  had  given 
Douglas  a  scare  during  his  last  campaign.  The 
audience  was  prepared  for  an  uncouth  orator 
whose  performance  would  probably  be  more 
curious  than  interesting,  and  his  personal  ap- 
pearance confirmed  the  expectation.  His  coun- 
trified clothes,  ungainly  figure  and  awkward 
movements  were  all  in  keeping  with  the  reports 
that  had  reached  the  metropolis,  and  his  first  im- 
pression on  the  crowded  auditorium  was  anything 
but  favorable.  But  something  in  the  gaunt, 
serious,  but  kindly  face  attracted  the  spectators, 
and  his  searching  eyes  made  them  forget  his 
clumsy,  swaying  body.  His  opening  words,  how- 
ever, grated  on  the  critical  and  cultured  audi- 
ence, for  his  voice  was  distinctly  unpleasant.  But 
after    the    first    few    moments    the    speaker's 

136 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN 

From  a  Brady  photograph  taken   February   27,   I860,  the  date 
of  his  address  at  Cooper  Union,  New  York  City. 


A   FORTUNATE   DEFEAT 

thoughts  and  not  his  voice  or  appearance  con- 
cerned his  intelligent  auditors.  By  sheer  intel- 
lect he  gripped  their  attention  and  never  lost  it. 
There  was  nothing  of  the  flamboyant  orator 
about  the  man.  He  was  serious,  quiet,  clear, 
logical  and  judicial.  Never  before  had  a  New 
York  audience  listened  to  any  such  presentation 
of  the  slavery  issue,  and  for  over  an  hour  it  held 
them  in  its  thrall. 

Until  it  had  heard  Lincoln,  New  York  had 
regarded  its  senator,  William  H.  Seward,  as  the 
one  authoritative  exponent  of  the  Republican 
policies  and  the  only  candidate  whose  nomination 
promised  even  a  possibility  of  success.  His  repu- 
tation at  the  bar  and  in  public  life  had  made  him 
a  national  figure  and  his  culture,  learning  and 
fine  presence  commanded  universal  respect.  In 
fact,  he  possessed  almost  every  quality  that  Lin- 
coln lacked.  But  the  visitor  from  Illinois  had 
showed  not  only  an  intellectual  honesty,  but  also 
a  scholarly  grasp  of  his  subject  that  convinced 
those  who  heard  him  that  he  had  studied  it  far 
more  deeply  than  Seward  and  had  a  broader  con- 
ception of  the  real  issues  at  stake.  New  England 
reached  the  same  conclusion  when  he  made  a  few 

137 


LINCOLN 

speeches  there  on  his  homeward  journey.  Then 
he  again  immersed  himself  in  his  law  practice  and 
practically  disappeared  from  public  view. 

Meanwhile  the  Democratic  Convention  as- 
sembled at  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  on  April 
23,  1860,  to  nominate  its  presidential  candidate. 
This  was  the  event  for  which  Douglas  had  waited 
and  worked  during  at  least  eight  years  of  his  life, 
and  his  reward  was  almost  assured  before  the 
session  opened.  He  fully  realized  that  it  would 
not  be  handed  to  him  without  a  struggle,  but  the 
violence  of  the  storm  that  his  candidacy  invoked 
must  have  fairly  astounded  him.  Little  did  he 
dream  that  his  answer  to  Lincoln's  question  in 
the  debate  regarding  the  Dred  Scott  decision 
would  be  seized  upon  by  his  enemies  and  con- 
verted into  a  weapon  for  his  destruction.  But 
he  was  speedily  enlightened.  Judah  Benjamin, 
one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  in  the  South,  was  soon 
to  attack  him  with  vitriolic  wrath  for  having  at- 
tempted to  teach  the  free  states  how  to  evade  the 
ruling  of  the  highest  tribunal  in  the  land. 

"We  accuse  him  for  this,"  he  thundered,  "that 
having  agreed  with  us  upon  a  point  upon  which 
we  were  at  issue — that  it  should  be  considered  a 

138 


A   FORTUNATE   DEFEAT 

judicial  point — that  he  would  abide  the  decision 
.  .  .  and  consider  it  as  a  doctrine  of  the  party; 
that  having  said  that  to  us  in  the  Senate,  he  went 
home  and  under  the  stress  of  a  local  election  his 
knees  gave  way,  his  whole  person  trembled. 
His  adversary  stood  upon  principle  and  was 
beaten.  .  .  .  The  Senator  from  Illinois  faltered. 
He  got  the  prize  for  which  he  faltered;  but  the 
grand  prize  of  his  ambition  to-day  slips  from  his 
grasp!" 

Notwithstanding  many  another  bitter  tirade  of 
this  sort,  the  Douglas  men  remained  loyal, 
clamoring  loudly  to  end  the  discussion  by  votes, 
until  the  convention,  hopelessly  split  by  the  with- 
drawal of  eight  state  delegations,  voted  an 
adjournment  of  the  session. 

But  at  Baltimore,  where  the  delegates  reas- 
sembled, all  attempts  at  harmony  failed  and  five 
more  states  withdrew,  the  dissatisfied  groups 
organized  a  separate  convention,  placed  their 
own  candidates  in  the  field  and  left  their  aban- 
doned associates  to  nominate  "the  little  Giant" 
at  their  leisure. 

Thus  Douglas  rode  the  storm.  But  the  Democ- 
racy was  rent  in  twain. 

139 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

THE  NOMINATION  FOR  THE  PRESIDENCY 

MEANWHILE,  and  between  the  two 
stormy  sessions  of  the  Democratic  Con- 
vention, the  Republicans  gathered  at  Chicago  to 
select  their  candidates.  Lincoln  was  well  aware 
that  his  name  would  be  presented,  for,  on  May  9, 
1860,  Illinois  had  noisily  and  enthusiastically  en- 
dorsed him  as  her  "favorite  son,"  wildly  cheering 
old  John  Hanks  of  Sangamon  County,  who  in- 
vaded the  Convention  Hall  bearing  on  his  shoul- 
der rails  said  to  have  been  split  by  Lincoln  in 
the  days  of  his  youth.  Those  trophies  were  borne 
to  Chicago  by  the  zealous  delegation  from 
Illinois,  which  vied  with  other  groups  in  all  sorts 
of  demonstrations  intended  to  advance  the  in- 
terests of  the  prospective  candidates.  Bands 
brayed  at  every  street  corner,  cheering  crowds 
paraded  and  the  city  overflowed  with  partisans 
possessing  lusty  lungs  but  no  votes. 

There    were    a    number    of    "favorite    sons." 
Salmon  Chase  of  Ohio  was  one;  Simon  Cameron 

140 


THE   NOMINATION   FOR   THE   PRESIDENCY 

of  Pennsylvania  was  another,  and  several  more 
had  loud,  if  not  very  numerous  supporters.  But 
the  leading  candidate  was  Senator  William  H. 
Seward  whose  pledged  followers  unquestionably 
outnumbered  those  of  any  rival,  and  whose  mana- 
gers were,  without  exception,  the  most  experi- 
enced and  adroit  politicians  in  the  Republican 
organization.  But  powerful  as  they  were,  they 
lacked  the  contagious  enthusiasm  of  the  little 
group  of  intimate  friends  who  came  to  Chicago, 
bent  heart  and  soul  on  Lincoln's  nomination. 
The  dominating  spirit  of  this  devoted  coterie  was 
Judge  David  Davis  of  the  Eighth  Circuit,  and  at 
his  beck  and  call  were  Judge  Stephen  Logan, 
Lincoln's  former  partner,  and  many  another 
member  of  the  bar  associated  with  him  in  his 
daily  practice.  They  lacked  the  political  experi- 
ence of  Seward's  representatives,  but  they  were 
shrewd  men,  keen  students  of  human  nature, 
good  mixers  with  all  the  rough-and-tumble  dele- 
gates, affable,  hard  working  and  unitedly 
determined. 

It  was  no  easy  task  to  persuade  a  majority  of 
the  states  to  accept  a  man  about  whom  the  coun- 
try,  as   a  whole,   knew  little   or   nothing,   but 

141 


LINCOLN 

Davis  and  his  associates  immediately  became  so 
aggressive  in  pushing  the  claims  of  their  candi- 
date that  Lincoln,  following  the  proceedings 
from  his  home,  grew  apprehensive  that  their  zeal 
might  carry  them  too  far.  He  therefore  wrote 
Davis  warning  him  to  make  no  bargains  or  prom- 
ises which  would  bind  him  in  any  way.  But  the 
resolute  men  who  were  fighting  for  him  at 
Chicago  against  heavy  odds  laughed  at  his 
scruples  and  flew  from  delegation  to  delegation, 
arguing  with  this  one,  negotiating  with  that 
one  and  scattering  promises  with  lavish  hands. 
Nevertheless,  when  the  first  ballot  was  cast  in 
the  big  "Wigwam"  specially  erected  for  the  con- 
vention Seward  led  all  his  competitors  by  a  wide 
and  almost  distancing  margin.  In  fact,  Lincoln, 
his  closest  rival,  had  only  102  votes  to  his  173%. 
But  the  very  next  ballot  showed  an  astonishing 
change  of  front.  Those  for  whom  complimentary 
votes  had  been  cast  practically  disappeared  and 
the  tally  stood  Seward,  184%,  Lincoln,  181. 

The  Wigwam  was  in  an  uproar  as  the  conven- 
tion proceeded  to  take  its  third  ballot  and  when 
the  result  was  announced — "Lincoln  231%, 
Seward  180" — one  of  the  Ohio  delegates  sprang 

142 


THE   NOMINATION   FOR   THE   PRESIDENCY 

to  his  feet  proclaiming  a  change  of  four  votes 
from  Chase  to  Lincoln,  giving  him  the 
nomination. 

Then  bedlam  broke  loose.  Bells  rang,  cannon 
thundered,  whistles  blew,  processions  bearing 
rails  were  formed,  men  yelled,  shouted  and 
wept  for  joy.  A  virtual  orgy  of  rejoicing  over- 
whelmed Chicago. 

While  all  this  hubbub  was  at  its  height  the 
man  it  was  intended  to  honor  sat  quietly  in  the 
office  of  the  Journal  in  Springfield,  and  when  the 
news  reached  him  he  slipped  away  to  his  own 
home,  where  the  next  day  he  met  the  Notification 
Committee  of  the  Convention  to  accept  the  nomi- 
nation in  a  few  modest,  grave  words. 

During  the  hectic  campaign  that  followed 
Douglas  toured  the  country  day  and  night,  ad- 
dressing enormous  throngs,  while  Breckinridge, 
nominated  by  the  seceded  Democrats,  and  Bell, 
the  candidate  of  another  group,  were  almost 
equally  active.  But  Lincoln  remained  quietly  at 
his  home,  refusing  to  make  speeches,  write  any- 
thing for  the  press  or  submit  to  interviews.  No 
attempt  was  made  to  protect  him  from  the  never- 
ending  procession  of  visitors  from  all  parts  of  the 

143 


LINCOLN 

country  who  invaded  his  home,  walking  in  and 
out  of  the  house  as  they  pleased.  He  received 
them  all  quite  informally,  listened  to  their  advice, 
but  good-naturedly  declined  to  commit  himself 
in  any  way.  Occasionally  he  took  refuge  in  the 
state  capitol,  where  an  office  had  been  provided 
for  the  secretaries  who  wrestled  with  the  enor- 
mous mail  addressed  to  him  by  all  sorts  and  con- 
ditions of  men.  But  he  wrote  no  public  letters  of 
any  kind,  and  passed  his  rare  hours  of  privacy 
wrapped  in  his  own  thoughts. 

On  November  6,  1860,  when  the  ballots  were 
counted  and  it  was  announced  that  he  had  se- 
cured 180  of  the  303  electoral  votes,  he  received 
the  jubilant  congratulations  of  his  friends  simply 
and  unaffectedly,  but  so  gravely  that  some  of 
them  began  to  fear  that  he  was  more  appalled 
than  gratified  by  the  confidence  reposed  in  him. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

THE  PRESIDENT-ELECT 

THE  Republicans  were  naturally  elated  at 
their  success.  In  less  than  five  years  they 
had  practically  united  all  the  foes  of  slavery  and 
had  developed  from  a  mere  party  of  protest  into 
the  dominant  political  power  of  the  land — 
an  amazing  achievement.  But  for  Lincoln  it  was 
fraught  with  anxieties.  He  had  received  up- 
wards of  two  million  votes — half  a  million  more 
than  Douglas,  and  far  more  than  either  Breck- 
inridge or  Bell,  the  other  candidates.  But  com- 
bined their  supporters  outnumbered  his  by  nearly 
a  million.  In  other  words,  the  majority  of  the 
people  had  voted  against  him  and  he  must  face 
the  fact  that  he  would  be,  at  best,  a  minority 
President.  Nor  was  that  all.  In  fifteen  states 
he  had  secured  no  electoral  vote  whatsoever,  and 
in  ten  states  not  a  single  ballot  had  been  cast  in 
his  favor. 

Threats  of  secession  by  the  cotton-growing 
states  had  been  rife  throughout  the  entire  cam- 

145 


LINCOLN 

paign,  but  they  had  not  disturbed  him.  He  had 
heard  the  same  sort  of  thing  during  Fremont's 
contest  against  President  Buchanan  and,  al- 
though in  that  instance  the  Democratic  victory 
had  eliminated  the  danger,  he  had  so  often  as- 
sured the  slave  states  that  he  had  no  thought  of 
interfering  with  them  that  he  could  not  believe 
they  would  withdraw  from  the  Union  unless 
their  rights  were  actually  infringed,  which  he  did 
not  intend  to  permit. 

Nevertheless,  each  day  that  followed  the  elec- 
tion brought  proof  that  the  cotton  states,  in  gen- 
eral, and  South  Carolina,  in  particular,  were 
making  active  preparations  for  secession  and 
Lincoln  was  bombarded  by  appeals  to  declare  his 
policy  and  allay  the  fears  of  the  South.  If  he 
waited  until  Inauguration  Day,  his  friends  de- 
clared, the  Union  would  be  dissolved  before  he 
had  taken  office.  His  silence,  they  urged,  was 
frightening  the  pro-slavery  men  and  a  positive 
reassurance  from  him  would  restore  public  con- 
fidence. But  the  President-Elect  did  not  share 
this  belief.  His  views  had,  he  asserted,  been  re- 
peatedly expressed  orally  and  in  writing  through 
a  long  series  of  years,  and  those  who  cared  to  do 

146 


THE   PRESIDENT-ELECT 

so  could  be  confident  that  there  was  no  cause  for 
alarm.  No  mere  repetition  of  the  assurances  he 
had  constantly  given  and  which  were  known  to 
every  citizen  would  have  any  influence.  When 
his  administration  did,  or  threatened  to  do  some- 
thing detrimental  to  the  rights  of  any  state  there 
would  be  plenty  of  time  to  revolt.  He  had  faith 
to  believe  that  his  fellow  countrymen  were  not 
going  to  condemn  him  in  advance. 

With  those  who  insisted  that  President  Bu- 
chanan's indifference  to  the  secession  movement 
was  giving  it  dangerous  encouragement,  he  smil- 
ingly agreed.  "I  am  in  the  position  of  a  junior 
counsel/'  he  observed.  "I  may  pull  his  coat-tail 
to  warn  him  that  he  is  throwing  away  his  case, 
but  I  can't  prevent  him  from  doing  it." 

Then  from  all  sides  advice  poured  in  upon  him 
as  to  whom  he  should  appoint  as  the  members  of 
his  Cabinet.  From  Pennsylvania  the  suggestions 
came  worded  very  much  like  a  demand,  and  then, 
for  the  first  time,  he  learned  that  his  zealous 
partisans  had  virtually  pledged  him  to  offer 
Simon  Cameron  of  that  state  a  place  in  the  ad- 
ministration. This  was  somewhat  of  a  shock,  for 
Cameron  was  not  the  sort  of  man  Lincoln  would 

147 


LINCOLN 

have  chosen  for  one  of  his  advisers  and  his  selec- 
tion would  be  sure  to  raise  a  storm  of  protest. 
But  the  promise  had  undoubtedly  been  made  and 
he  ratified  it  by  notifying  the  Pennsylvanian  that 
he  would  be  made  Secretary  of  War.  To  Seward 
he  offered  the  secretaryship  of  state,  and  to  Chase 
the  treasuryship. 

Those  selections,  it  was  thought,  virtually 
sealed  Lincoln's  fate.  In  fact,  if  he  had  actually 
announced  his  abdication  of  office,  the  effect  on 
the  public  could  scarcely  have  been  more  con- 
vincing. Seward  and  Chase  were  popularly  re- 
garded as  his  social,  professional  and  mental  su- 
periors in  whose  dominating  hands  he  was  bound 
to  be  a  mere  puppet.  And  the  event  proved  that 
both  his  appointees  shared  that  view. 

Meanwhile  South  Carolina  completed  its 
preparations  for  withdrawal  from  the  Union,  and 
on  December  20,  1860,  passed  its  Ordinance  of 
Secession.  Five  other  states  followed  her  lead 
and  well  within  sixty  days  the  seceders  organized 
the  Confederacy,  to  which  five  more  states  sub- 
sequently adhered. 

All  this  was  enough  to  shake  the  nerve  of  any 
man,  and  the  whole  country  was  on  the  verge 

148 


THE   PRESIDENT-ELECT 

of  panic.  But  perhaps  the  calmest  man  was  he 
upon  whom  the  heaviest  responsibility  rested. 

Lincoln  prepared  his  inaugural  address  while 
the  very  foundations  of  the  Union  were  tottering; 
slipped  away  from  the  horde  of  office-seekers  that 
infested  his  home  and  even  waylaid  him  in  the 
streets,  to  bid  farewell  to  his  dearly  loved  old 
stepmother  in  Coles  County;  visited  his  father's 
grave  and  spent  a  few  days  with  his  boyhood 
friends  in  the  neighborhood  of  New  Salem. 

Then  he  returned  to  his  law  office,  where  he 
requested  Herndon  to  keep  the  firm  alive  and  let 
the  sign  of  their  partnership  remain  undisturbed 
until  he  could  resume  his  professional  duties; 
spoke  a  few  words  to  the  group  of  neighbors 
gathered  at  the  railroad  station  to  wish  him  God- 
speed and,  under  darkening  skies  and  a  drizzling 
rain,  started  for  the  capital  of  the  crumbling 
nation. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

INAUGURATED 

IT  was  not  without  some  disturbing  incidents 
that  Lincoln  arrived  in  Washington.  Rumors 
of  plots  to  assassinate  him  filled  the  air;  and,  in 
spite  of  his  protests,  precautions  were  taken  to 
insure  his  safety.  But  nothing  occurred  to  jus- 
tify them,  and  on  March  4,  1861,  when  President 
Buchanan  called  at  his  successor's  hotel  to  escort 
him  to  the  Capitol  no  crowd  assembled  to  witness 
the  event.  Nor  did  either  of  them  attract  any 
attention  as  they  drove  through  the  city.  In 
fact,  only  a  comparatively  small  group  of  spec- 
tators awaited  them  at  the  platform  erected  for 
the  inaugural  ceremonies. 

Probably  no  President  of  the  United  States 
ever  assumed  his  duties  under  more  depressing 
conditions.  There  was  nothing  in  the  outward 
appearance  of  Lincoln  at  any  time  to  inspire  the 
casual  observer  with  confidence,  but  on  this  oc- 
casion he  was  particularly  unimpressive.  He 
wore  new  and  ill-fitting  clothes  which  obviously 

150 


INAUGURATED 

discomfited  him,  and  his  stubble  of  half -grown 
beard  gave  him  an  untidy  look  that  marred  the 
dignity  of  his  finely  chiseled  features. 

Judge  Roger  Taney,  Chief  Justice  of  the 
United  States,  whose  opinion  in  the  Dred  Scott 
case  had  done  more  to  arouse  the  resentment  of 
the  free  states  than  any  other  utterance  in  the 
long  struggle  over  slavery,  administered  the  oath. 
The  venerable  jurist,  wearing  his  official  black 
robe,  appeared  to  be  almost  at  death's  door,  and 
the  only  man  on  the  platform  who  seemed  con- 
cerned for  the  comfort  of  the  lonely  man  that 
confronted  the  meager  audience  was  Senator 
Stephen  Douglas,*  who  relieved  his  embarrassed 
rival  of  the  tall  silk  hat  which  he  carried  in  his 
hand.  And  it  was  he  alone  that  nodded  apprecia- 
tion as  Lincoln  spoke — not  to  those  who  listened 
but  to  the  seceding  states. 

In  your  hands,  my  dissatisfied  fellow  country- 
men and  not  in  mine  is  the  momentous  issue  of 
civil  war  [he  concluded].   The  Government  will 

*  From  that  time  forward  Douglas  supported  Lincoln,  strongly- 
opposed  secession,  advised  his  sons  to  uphold  the  Constitution 
and  made  a  series  of  public  addresses  firmly  advocating  the 
preservation  of  the  Union.  Then  he  suddenly  became  ill  and 
died  June  3,  1861,  at  the  age  of  forty-eight. 

151 


LINCOLN 

not  assail  you.  You  can  have  no  conflict  with- 
out being  yourselves  the  aggressors.  You  have 
no  oath  registered  in  heaven  to  destroy  the  Gov- 
ernment, while  I  shall  have  the  most  solemn  one 
to  preserve,  protect  and  defend  it. 

I  am  loath  to  close.  We  are  not  enemies  but 
friends.  We  must  not  be  enemies.  Though 
passion  may  have  strained,  it  must  not  break  our 
bonds  of  affection.  The  mystic  chords  of 
memory,  stretching  from  every  battlefield  and 
patriot  grave  to  every  living  heart  and  hearth- 
stone all  over  this  broad  land  will  yet  swell  the 
chorus  of  the  Union  when  again  touched,  as 
surely  they  will  be,  by  the  better  angels  of  our 
nature. 

That  appeal  has  now  become  a  classic  en- 
shrined in  the  literature  of  the  English  language. 
But  it  is  something  more.  It  is  the  creed  to 
which  Lincoln  lived  true — the  expression  of  the 
sole  ambition  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

ON  THE  VERGE  OF  WAR 

NO  President  of  the  United  States  ever  as- 
sumed office  in  the  face  of  difficulties  such 
as  confronted  Lincoln.  Not  only  had  the  ma- 
jority of  the  electors  voted  against  him,  but  he 
was  wholly  without  experience  as  an  adminis- 
trator and,  except  as  he  had  met  them  in  his  law 
practice,  quite  unfamiliar  with  large  business 
problems.  His  lack  of  administrative  training 
was  perhaps  the  least  of  his  deficiencies,  for  the 
situation  which  he  had  to  handle  was  absolutely 
unprecedented.  In  fact,  the  political  leaders  of 
widest  experience  signally  failed  to  rise  to  the 
emergency  and  their  obvious  panic  merely  ag- 
gravated the  welter  of  confusion. 

It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  some  of  the 
propositions  that  originated  in  Congress  for 
reconciling  the  seceding  states  and  tiding  over  the 
crisis  sound  like  the  emanations  of  a  madhouse. 
Bills  were  actually  introduced  to  give  the  presi- 
dency to  the  South  and  the  vice-presidency  to  the 
North  each  alternate  four  years,  and  every  form 

153 


LINCOLN 

of  weak-kneed  offer  to  yield  all  that  had  been 
won  at  the  last  election  was  voiced  in  the  babel 
inspired  by  wild-eyed  apprehension  and  chat- 
tering fear.  Even  Seward  who,  after  back- 
ing and  filling,  had  accepted  the  office  of  Secre- 
tary of  State  and  was  generally  regarded  as  the 
strong  man  of  the  Cabinet,  completely  lost  his 
head  and  contributed,  for  Lincoln's  guidance,  a 
document  of  which  the  most  charitable  explana- 
tion is  that  it  was  the  product  of  a  temporarily 
disordered  brain. 

That  paper,  which  he  entitled  "Thoughts  for 
the  President's  Consideration,"  included  a  recom- 
mendation that  Lincoln  stir  up  a  foreign  war  to 
unite  the  American  people  and  make  them  forget 
their  domestic  differences.  Had  the  President 
published  that  criminally  lunatic  suggestion 
Seward's  friends  would  have  had  to  remove  him 
to  a  sanatorium,  and  the  services  of  one  of  the 
ablest  men  in  the  country  would  have  been  lost 
at  the  most  critical  moment  of  its  history.  But 
Lincoln  was  not  even  tempted  to  dispose  of  his 
political  rival  by  exposing  his  weakness.  He 
probably  knew  that  the  public  regarded  him  as  a 
mere  puppet  in  Seward's  hands,  and  if  he  ever 

154 


ON   THE   VERGE   OF  WAR 

had  entertained  any  doubts  as  to  whether  or  not 
his  Secretary  of  State  shared  this  view,  they  were 
completely  dissipated  by  the  "thoughts  submitted 
for  his  consideration."  In  that  incredible  memo- 
randum Seward  had  written,  "Either  the  Presi- 
dent must  do  this  himself  or  devolve  it  on  some 
member  of  the  Cabinet.  It  is  not  my  special 
province.  But  I  neither  seek  to  evade  nor  to 
assume  responsibility." 

One  of  Lincoln's  greatest  acts  of  magnanimity 
is  that  he  absolutely  suppressed  that  paper,  which 
came  to  light  only  long  after  his  death.  He 
doubtless  made  allowance  for  the  mental  strain 
to  which  his  distinguished  associate  had  been 
subjected,  and  merely  responded  that  if,  as  indi- 
cated, certain  things  had  to  be  done  by  the  Presi- 
dent he  (and  he  alone)  must  do  them.  From 
that  moment  Seward  knew  who  was  the  master 
mind  of  the  government,  and,  with  a  few  lapses, 
he  thereafter  cooperated  with  and  aided  his  chief 
as  probably  no  other  man  of  his  day  could  have 
done.  Thus,  out  of  what  was  perhaps  the  acme 
of  political  derangement,  there  came  to  the  nation 
the  lucidity  of  a  calm,  clear  thinking  mind,  undis- 
turbed by  one  of  the  most  distracting  of  the  many 

155 


LINCOLN 

petty  rivalries  that  harassed  it  while  the  existence 
of  the  Union  was  at  stake. 

Lincoln,  keenly  conscious  of  his  inexperience, 
moved  cautiously,  testing  his  footing  at  every 
step,  often  pausing  or  changing  his  direction,  but 
never  retreating.  His  objective  was  the  Union 
— the  preservation  of  the  nation.  To  achieve 
that  he  stood  ready  to  lay  aside  all  preconceived 
opinions  as  to  the  surest  route  for  reaching  the 
goal.  But  he  had  to  be  convinced  that  the  sur- 
render of  his  personal  judgment  would  insure 
the  national  safety. 

Upon  the  first  steps  to  be  taken  he  had  firmly 
determined  before  he  entered  the  White  House. 
The  initial  one  was  the  relief  of  Fort  Sumter 
whose  surrender  had  been  demanded  by  South 
Carolina,  and  then,  retaining  the  border  states  in 
the  Union,  to  prevent  the  secession  of  North 
Carolina,  Tennessee,  Arkansas  and  Kentucky. 
In  no  part  of  this  program  was  he  completely 
successful.  Yet  the  attack  on  Fort  Sumter  when 
its  relief  was  attempted  against  the  opposition  of 
the  majority  of  his  Cabinet,  welded  the  Union 
states  with  a  solidity  that  foredoomed  secession 
to  failure  as  completely  as  though  the  frightful 

156 


ON   THE   VERGE   OF  WAR 

war  that  followed  had  ended  then  and  there. 

It  is  futile  at  this  day  to  follow  the  representa- 
tions and  misrepresentations  that  led  to  the  attack 
upon  the  now  famous  fortress.  Seward  had  not 
yet  fully  recovered  from  the  mania  for  assuming 
the  presidential  functions  and  doubtless  he,  and 
others  with  even  less  authority,  to  some  extent, 
misled  the  leaders  of  the  Confederacy.  But  Lin- 
coln never  had  any  thought  of  abandoning 
Major  Anderson,  its  commander,  who,  in  the 
Black  Hawk  war,  had  mustered  him  in  as  a 
Ranger.  The  result  was  a  demand  by  the  gov- 
ernment of  South  Carolina  for  his  surrender,  its 
prompt  refusal  and  the  bloodless  bombardment 
of  the  fort,  which  he  finally  evacuated  with  all 
military  honors. 

Up  to  that  moment  the  opinion  of  the  Union 
states  had  been  far  from  unanimous  on  the  proper 
course  to  be  pursued  and  there  was,  to  say  the 
least,  no  enthusiasm  for  the  new  administration. 
But  with  the  firing  of  the  first  gun  came  a  re- 
vulsion of  feeling.  Almost  in  an  instant  all  fac- 
tions united  in  lionizing  Major  Anderson  and 
proffering  unwavering  support  to  his  chief  who 
had  risen  from  the  ranks. 

157 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

OPENING  MOVES 

IT  is  frequently  asserted  that  Lincoln  was  a 
military  genius.  Of  all  the  exaggerated 
claims  that  have  been  made  for  him  this  one 
would  probably  be  the  most  distasteful  to  the 
man  it  is  intended  to  honor.  In  fact,  it  almost 
seems  as  though  he  had  anticipated  some  such 
absurdity  by  jocularly  protesting,  while  a  Con- 
gressman, that  if  he  ever  became  a  presidential 
candidate  his  friends  should  not  make  fun  of  him 
by  attempting  to  write  him  into  a  military  hero. 
But  it  may  be  conceded  that  ability  to  select 
subordinates  is  an  attribute  of  military  genius, 
and  Lincoln  certainly  displayed  that  quality 
when  he  tentatively  offered  the  command  of  the 
Union  army  to  Robert  E.  Lee.  Indeed,  it  was 
nothing  less  than  an  inspiration  to  have  sought 
the  services  of  the  man  who,  not  only  by  his  pro- 
fessional talents  but  by  his  character,  was  pre- 
eminently qualified  for  the  duties  with  which  it 
was  intended  to  entrust  him.    But  Virginia  had 

158 


OPENING   MOVES 

not  then  determined  as  to  her  part  in  the  impend- 
ing conflict,  and  Lee  *  was  first  and  foremost  a 
Virginian.  He  accordingly  replied  that  while 
personally  devoted  to  the  Union,  he  could  not 
draw  his  sword  against  his  native  state.  The 
response  honored  Lee  and,  although  he  could  not 
serve  as  Lincoln  requested,  there  is  probably  no 
other  man  of  the  Confederacy  who,  by  his  ex- 
ample after  the  war,  more  perfectly  coordinated 
his  efforts  with  those  of  Lincoln  for  the  complete 
restoration  of  the  Union. 

The  President  was  not  permitted  to  think  out 
the  innumerable  problems  that  confronted  him 
throughout  his  administration  in  the  cloistered 
quiet  of  a  study.  The  Republican  party  included 
thousands  of  hungry  office-seekers  who  descended 
on  the  White  House  like  a  swarm  of  locusts  and 
never  for  a  moment  left  its  occupant  in  peace. 
They  hounded  him  in  his  official  chambers, 
dogged  his  footsteps  up  and  down  stairs,  pursued 
him  in  the  street  and  pestered  him  beyond  en- 

*  Lee  was  not  only  opposed  to  secession  but  to  slavery.  He 
had  emancipated  all  his  own  slaves  and  as  executor  of  his  father- 
in-law  (Mr.  Custis)  was  gradually  freeing  the  slaves  of  the 
Custis  estate.  Virginia  had  more  than  once  come  close  to  abolish- 
ing slavery  within  its  borders. 

159 


LINCOLN 

durance.  A  man  of  different  character  would 
have  angrily  swept  them  out  of  his  sight  as  a 
public  nuisance,  but  Lincoln,  who  had  never  been 
accustomed  to  closing  his  door  against  any  one, 
submitted  to  the  outrageous  waste  of  his  time  and 
energy  until  it  well-nigh  sapped  his  strength. 
When  some  one  encountered  him  in  a  state  of 
nervous  exhaustion  and  anxiously  inquired  if  bad 
news  had  been  received  from  the  front,  he  smiled 
wanly  and  shook  his  head.  "No,"  he  responded. 
"It's  the  postmastership  at  Jonesville."  He  was, 
he  declared,  like  a  man  expected  to  satisfy  the 
insistent  demands  of  people  for  rooms  in  a  burn- 
ing building,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  while 
they  clamored  for  quarters  and  he  assigned  them, 
the  whole  structure  might  collapse  from  sheer 
neglect. 

But  it  was  not  only  the  office-seekers  that 
plagued  him  to  distraction.  In  the  Cabinet  he 
was  sore  beset.  Shortly  after  the  outbreak  of  the 
war  England  declared  her  neutrality — an  en- 
tirely appropriate  action,  quite  in  accord  with 
diplomatic  precedent.  But  Seward,  regarding 
it  as  a  hostile  act,  almost  tantamount,  in 
his  judgment,  to  recognition  of  the  Confederacy, 

160 


OPENING   MOVES 

indited  a  note  to  the  American  minister  at 
London  which,  had  it  been  presented  in  its 
original  form,  would  certainly  have  suspended 
all  further  diplomatic  intercourse  between  the 
two  countries.  Fortunately,  however,  Lincoln 
intervened  and,  taking  the  dispatch  in  his  own 
hands,  redrafted  it  from  beginning  to  end. 

Meanwhile  public  clamor  for  an  advance  upon 
the  Confederate  capital  at  Richmond  became 
irresistible,  and  Lincoln  yielded  to  it.  Neither 
the  Union  nor  the  Confederate  forces  had  been 
properly  trained  or  sufficiently  disciplined  to  take 
the  field,  but  in  leadership  the  Confederates  were 
much  superior,  with  the  result  that  the  Union 
army  was  disgracefully  routed  at  Manassas  and 
driven  back  on  Washington  in  complete  disorder. 

The  responsibility  for  securing  a  new  com- 
mander for  the  shattered  army  immediately  de- 
volved on  Lincoln,  and  on  July  29,  1861,  he 
selected  Major  General  George  B.  McClellan,  a 
West  Point  graduate  who  had  retired  from  the 
service,  reentered  it  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war, 
achieved  some  slight  success,  won  the  confidence 
of  his  men  arid  fired  the  public  imagination.    No 

161 


LINCOLN 

more  popular  appointment  could  possibly  have 
been  made.  But  it  was  destined  to  tax  Lincoln's 
already  burdened  shoulders  to  the  breaking  point 
and  prove  a  severe  test  of  his  patience  and  for- 
bearance. 

It  must  have  been  with  a  feeling  of  relief  that 
the  President  entrusted  the  conduct  of  the  army 
to  a  man  who  possessed  to  an  extraordinary  de- 
gree the  confidence  of  both  soldiers  and  civilians. 
For  a  time  at  least  he  was  freed  of  one  of  his  most 
irksome  responsibilities.  But  he  was  soon  com- 
pelled to  assume  another  onerous  burden,  and  this 
time  the  navy  thrust  it  upon  him. 

On  November  8, 1861,  the  United  States  man- 
of-war,  San  Jacinto,  commanded  by  Captain 
Wilkes,  stopped  the  British  mail  steamer  Trent 
on  the  high  seas  and  took  from  her,  by  force, 
Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell,  two  Confederate  com- 
missioners to  England,  who  were  passengers  on 
the  mail  boat.  The  British  captain  protested 
against  their  seizure,  which  was  unquestionably 
illegal.  Indeed,  the  United  States  had  itself  fre- 
quently condemned  similar  actions,  insisting  that 
those  sailing  under  its  flag  were  protected  by  it. 

But  popular  opinion  disregarded  international 
162 


OPENING    MOVES 

law  and  Captain  Wilkes  was  acclaimed  as  a  hero 
and  accorded  all  sorts  of  public  honors.  It  soon 
became  apparent,  however,  that  the  arrest  of  the 
Confederate  envoys  had  occasioned  great  indig- 
nation in  England.  Indeed,  the  first  draft  of 
the  dispatch  demanding  their  surrender  was  so 
worded  by  the  Foreign  Office  that  it  would  have 
been  difficult  for  the  United  States  to  have 
yielded  with  dignity.  Wiser  counsels,  however, 
prevailed  and  the  tone  of  the  dispatch,  when 
finally  presented,  though  still  somewhat  per- 
emptory, conformed  to  diplomatic  usage. 

Had  Lincoln  been  experienced  in  international 
law  he  would  have  repudiated  Wilkes's  action  the 
moment  he  reported  it.  But  unfortunately  that 
was  a  branch  of  jurisprudence  to  which  his  atten- 
tion had  not  been  directed  in  his  circuit  practice. 
Seward,  of  course,  was  no  stranger  to  the  law  of 
nations  and  apparently  had  no  doubt  from  the 
very  start  that  an  illegal  act  had  been  committed. 
Yet  he  hesitated  to  force  his  views  on  the  Presi- 
dent by  urging  him  to  take  an  unpopular  stand 
at  the  outset  of  his  administration,  and  un- 
doubtedly sympathized  very  strongly  with  the 

163 


LINCOLN 

public  resentment  at  the  unfriendly  attitude  as- 
sumed by  the  British  press  and  some  of  its  gov- 
ernment officials  toward  the  Union  cause.  In  any 
event,  the  seizure  was  not  immediately  disavowed 
and  invited  a  crisis.  When  it  occurred,  however, 
the  Secretary  of  State  rose  to  the  occasion  and 
strongly  urged  that  it  be  handled  in  a  statesman- 
like manner  regardless  of  personal  prejudices  or 
public  opinion.  Lincoln  accordingly  disapproved 
the  naval  commander's  action,  surrendered  his 
prisoners  and,  with  due  expressions  of  regret, 
closed  the  incident. 

This  episode,  important  in  many  ways,  in- 
volved unfortunate  consequences  in  the  future. 
But  it  is  particularly  noteworthy  because  it  re- 
cords one  of  those  rare  instances  where  Lincoln's 
judgment  erred.  He  was  by  no  means 
immune  from  errors  and  he  had  frequent  occasion 
to  change  his  mind.  When  he  made  a  mistake, 
however,  he  assumed  entire  responsibility  for  it, 
correcting  it  fearlessly  without  apologies.  The 
marvelous  thing  is  that,  beset  as  he  was  by  vexa- 
tions and  complications  of  all  sorts,  he  made  so 
few  missteps.  Then,  again,  the  Mason  and 
Slidell  case  is  memorable  as  marking  Seward's 

164 


OPENING   MOVES 

recovery  from  the  unfortunate  delusions  which 
at  first  marred  his  effective  cooperation  with  his 
chief.  From  that  time  onward  he  strove  to  think 
with  and  not  for  the  President. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

A  TEST  OF  PATIENCE 

GENERAL  GEORGE  McCLELLAN 
was  only  about  thirty-four  years  of  age 
when  he  became  the  commander  in  chief  of  the 
Union  army,  and  no  man  ever  responded  to  the 
call  of  duty  under  more  favorable  auspices.  His 
youth  and  personal  magnetism  appealed  to  the 
public  which  enthusiastically  hailed  him  as  "the 
little  Napoleon"  without  waiting  for  any  proof 
of  his  military  capacity,  and  this  of  itself  infused 
the  troops  with  confidence  long  before  they  came 
under  his  command.  Rut  though  his  reputation 
as  a  field  general  had  practically  no  foundation, 
his  ability  as  an  engineer  had  been  recognized  by 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  into  whose  service 
he  had  entered  shortly  after  his  graduation  from 
West  Point,  and  he  had  fully  met  the  responsibil- 
ities placed  upon  him.  His  popularity,  self- 
confidence,  sound  training  and  success  in  civilian 
life  all  combined  to  convince  Lincoln  that  he  was 
the  man  of  the  hour.    Rut  he  had  another  qualifi- 

166 


A  TEST  OF  PATIENCE 

cation  which  had  great  influence  with  the  Presi- 
dent in  promoting  him  over  the  heads  of  far  more 
experienced  soldiers.  He  was  a  prominent 
Democrat  and  Lincoln  earnestly  desired  that 
both  Democrats  and  Republicans  should  unite  in 
the  effort  to  maintain  the  Union  and  that  the  war 
should  be  conducted  regardless  of  party  lines. 

McClellan  lost  no  time  in  confirming  the  high 
opinion  which  had  been  formed  of  his  ability. 
He  speedily  created  order  out  of  the  chaos  of  con- 
fusion in  which  he  found  the  forces  entrusted  to 
his  charge  in  the  summer  of  1861  and  within  a 
year  molded  the  Army  of  the  Potomac  into  the 
best  trained  and  most  perfectly  equipped  fighting 
unit  that  had  ever  been  assembled  in  the  country. 
His  every  demand  was  instantly  complied 
with  and  no  commander  could  have  asked  for 
more  loyal  support  than  he  received  from  all  de- 
partments of  the  administration.  By  October, 
1861,  there  had  been  placed  at  his  disposal  nearly 
150,000  men,  although  his  tally  of  the  forces 
rarely  agreed  with  that  of  the  government.  As 
Lincoln  once  remarked,  the  task  of  supplying 
him  with  men  seemed  "like  shifting  fleas  across  a 
barn  floor  with  a  shovel — not  half  of  them  seemed 

167 


LINCOLN 

to  get  there."  Nevertheless,  he  unquestionably- 
had  a  far  larger  and  better  equipped  army  under 
his  control  than  the  Confederates  possessed.  Yet 
he  appeared  in  no  hurry  to  take  advantage  of  the 
situation.  Indeed,  long  after  his  organization 
had  been  perfected  he  remained  so  completely 
inactive  that  the  public  in  general,  and  the  press 
in  particular,  began  to  grow  impatient,  and  no 
suggestions  from  the  administration  as  to  em- 
ploying the  weapon  in  his  hands  made  any  im- 
pression on  the  young  commander.  Finally,  in 
January,  1862,  when  he  became  ill,  Lincoln  re- 
quested some  of  the  other  generals  to  meet 
him  and  discuss  the  situation.  "If  General 
McClellan  does  not  want  to  use  the  army,"  he 
good-naturedly  remarked,  "I  would  like  to 
borrow  it." 

There  was  something  more  than  humor  in  that 
observation,  for  McClellan  had  gradually  come 
to  regard  the  army  as  his  private  property  and 
the  adulation  he  had  received  from  the  public  had 
gone  to  his  head.  He  not  only  considered  himself 
superior  to  the  administration  and  indispensable 
to  the  country  but  did  not  hesitate  to  show  his 
disdain  of  the  President  and  his  advisers  on  every 

168 


A   TEST   OF   PATIENCE 

possible  occasion.  Indeed,  he  carried  this  so  far 
that  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  began  to  lose 
all  confidence  in  him.  Nevertheless,  Lincoln 
continued  to  support  him  loyally,  overlooking  his 
arrogance  and  submitting  to  personal  slights 
which  no  one,  save  he,  would  have  endured  for  an 
instant. 

But  McClellan  utterly  misconstrued  the  for- 
bearance of  his  patient  chief  toward  whom,  as 
time  passed,  he  exhibited  nothing  less  than  down- 
right contempt.  To  save  him  inconvenience  Lin- 
coln frequently  called  at  his  home,  instead  of 
summoning  him  to  the  White  House  for  consulta- 
tions, and  in  many  other  respects  showed  him  a 
deference  which  members  of  the  Cabinet  criticized 
as  undignified.  It  was  undoubtedly  a  mistaken 
kindness,  for  it  confirmed  McClellan  in  his 
opinion  of  his  own  importance  and  finally  en- 
couraged him  to  an  act  of  such  gross  insolence 
that  it  could  not  be  condoned. 

One  evening  he  permitted  the  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  nation  and  the  Secretary  of  State  to  wait  in 
his  reception  room  for  a  considerable  period  and 
then  sent  a  messenger  to  announce  that  he  had 
retired  for  the  night  and  could  not  see  them. 

169 


LINCOLN 

Seward  was  naturally  indignant  and  did  not 
hesitate  to  characterize  such  conduct  as  an  out- 
rageous affront  to  the  President's  dignity.  But 
Lincoln  overlooked  this  and  similar  offenses, 
merely  remarking  that  he  would  hold  McCellan's 
horse  for  him  if  he  would  only  achieve  success. 
However,  he  never  again  called  on  the  insolent 
young  general,  although  he  continued,  in  every 
way,  to  encourage  and  support  him. 

The  Army  of  the  Potomac  finally  took  the  field 
about  March,  1862,  and  then  evidence  of  Mc- 
Clellan's  deficiencies  multiplied.  He  developed 
a  mania  for  overestimating  his  opponents' 
strength  and  magnifying  his  own  difficulties. 
Again  and  again  he  outnumbered  the  Con- 
federates two,  and  even  three,  to  one,  yet  he 
clamored  lustily  for  reinforcements,  complained 
that  he  was  being  sacrificed  and  conceived  the 
notion  that  a  conspiracy  existed  in  Washington 
to  ruin  him.  At  one  moment  he  was  in  the  depths 
of  despair  and  at  the  next  so  exultantly  over- 
confident that  he  indulged  in  extravagantly 
childish  boasting.  The  net  results  were  a  series  of 
defeats  and  disasters  almost  unparalleled  in  the 
history  of  warfare,  for  which  he  blamed  the  ad- 

170 


A   TEST   OF   PATIENCE 

ministration  in  general,  and  Lincoln  in  particular, 
with  unremitting  bitterness.  On  one  occasion 
he  went  so  far  as  to  write  the  Secretary  of  War : 
"If  I  save  this  army  now,  I  tell  you  plainly  that 
I  owe  no  thanks  to  you  nor  to  any  other  persons 
in  Washington.  You  have  done  your  best  to 
sacrifice  this  army." 

The  only  response  which  any  officer  could  rea- 
sonably expect  to  such  a  tirade  would  be  an  order 
removing  him  from  his  command  and  summoning 
him  before  a  court-martial.  Fearing  this  result, 
one  of  the  staff  officers  somewhat  softened  the 
wording  of  the  dispatch  before  transmitting  it, 
although  its  insolence  could  not  be  wholly  con- 
cealed. But  Lincoln  resorted  to  no  harsh  meas- 
ures. On  the  contrary,  he  sought  to  excuse  the 
insubordinate  outburst  on  the  ground  that  it  must 
have  been  written  while  McClellan  was  laboring 
under  excitement  that  had  temporarily  affected 
his  mind.  With  this  idea  he  personally  wrote  him 
a  soothing  note  exonerating  him  from  blame  and 
assuming  all  responsibility  for  the  disaster. 

Of  course  there  was  some  ground  for  Mc- 
Clellan's  repeated  claims  that  his  plans  were  in- 
terfered with  by  the  government.    He  had  un- 

171 


LINCOLN 

doubtedly  been  hampered  by  too  much  well- 
meant  advice  and  far  too  much  control  from 
Washington.  The  Congressional  Committee  on 
the  Conduct  of  the  War  proved  to  be  a  meddle- 
some body,  and  the  Secretary  of  War,  the  Presi- 
dent and  his  military  adviser  frequently  issued 
orders  that  handicapped  the  field  commander. 
But  similar  difficulties  occur  in  every  war.  It  is 
impossible  for  any  government  to  give  its  mili- 
tary representatives  an  entirely  free  hand.  Ques- 
tions of  national  policy  must  always  be  consid- 
ered and  sometimes  must  control  army  move- 
ments, even  at  the  cost  of  damaging  a  campaign. 
For  instance,  it  was  of  the  first  importance  that 
Washington  should,  at  all  times,  be  adequately 
protected,  for  its  capture  might  have  been  fol- 
lowed by  the  recognition  of  the  Confederacy  by 
foreign  powers.  Undue  anxiety  about  the  safety 
of  the  capital  occasionally  resulted  in  withholding 
reinforcements  upon  which  McClellan  counted, 
and  he  invariably  seized  on  such  excuses  to  shift 
to  others  the  responsibility  for  his  defeats. 

The  real  reason  for  his  failures,  however,  was 
that  he  confronted  the  ablest  military  leaders  that 
this  country  ever  produced.     Generals  Joseph 

172 


A   TEST   OF   PATIENCE 

Johnston,  Stonewall  Jackson,  Ewell,  Longstreet, 
Stuart,  and  many  other  famous  Confederate  com- 
manders were  infinitely  his  superiors  in  all  that 
pertains  to  the  handling  of  an  army  in  the  field. 
And  of  course  he  had  no  more  chance  than  an 
amateur  would  have  had  against  a  master  strate- 
gist like  Lee.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  his  opponents 
read  him  like  a  book  and  Stonewall  Jackson,  his 
classmate  at  West  Point,  never  failed  to  take 
advantage  of  all  his  known  weaknesses. 

As  an  engineer  and  organizing  genius  he  pos- 
sessed high  talent,  but  he  had  practically  no 
experience  in  the  art  of  war  and  never  developed 
any  aptitude  for  it.  Yet  even  when  his  defects 
were  plainly  demonstrated,  Lincoln  hesitated  to 
remove  him,  for  there  was  no  one  in  sight  that 
suggested  a  promising  successor.  Hoping 
against  hope  he  kindly  and  earnestly  endeavored 
to  win  his  confidence,  repeatedly  warning  him 
that  the  country  was  interested  only  in  results 
and  not  in  excuses  for  failing  to  produce  them. 
For  a  time  he  was  partially  superseded  by  Gen- 
eral Pope,  who  proved  utterly  incapable,  but 
restored  to  full  command  when  Lee  threatened 
Maryland. 

173 


LINCOLN 

At  this  crisis  fortune  placed  his  adversary  in 
the  hollow  of  his  hand,  for  a  soldier  picked  up  a 
package  of  cigars  wrapped  in  a  paper  which 
proved  to  be  a  complete  outline  of  Lee's  plans. 
But  even  with  this  vital  document  in  his  posses- 
sion, his  overcaution  and  dilatory  movements  lost 
the  great  opportunity  that  had  been  afforded  him. 
Indeed,  before  the  Union  army  arrived  within 
striking  distance  Lee  had  learned  that  his  plans 
were  discovered,  altered  them  with  lightning 
speed,  and  with  only  55,000  available  men  to  his 
opponent's  87,000,  succeeded  at  Sharpsburg  on 
Antietam  Creek,  in  making  a  drawn  battle  out 
of  what  might  have  been  an  overwhelming  de- 
feat. Then  he  leisurely  retired  from  Maryland 
unmolested  by  his  adversary. 

In  vain  Lincoln  counseled,  urged  and  com- 
manded his  general  to  follow  the  retreating 
forces,  even  visiting  him  for  three  days  in  the  field 
to  emphasize  the  necessity  for  action,  and  writing 
him  in  the  kindliest  spirit  to  consider  the  advan- 
tages of  speeding  his  movements.  But  McClel- 
lan  continued  to  procrastinate,  and  not  until 
November  1st — over  six  weeks  after  the  battle — 
did  his  army  cross  the  Potomac  in  the  wake  of 

174 


A  TEST  OF  PATIENCE 

Lee.  This  was  too  much  for  the  long-enduring 
President  and  after  a  sharp  criticism — almost  the 
only  one  he  had  permitted  himself  to  formulate 
throughout  the  entire  struggle — he  relieved  the 
obdurate  officer  from  his  command,  naming 
General  Burnside  as  his  successor. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

RESISTING  PRESSURE 

THROUGHOUT  his  long  and  exhausting 
experience  with  McClellan  Lincoln's  mind 
had  been  struggling  with  the  most  momentous 
problem  of  the  war.  The  party  that  had  elected 
him  to  the  presidency  had  pledged  itself  to  oppose 
the  extension  of  slavery,  and  that  avowed  policy 
had  precipitated  the  secession  movement. 

The  Confederates,  however,  had  not  em- 
phasized the  slavery  issue  in  their  withdrawal 
from  the  Union.  They  had  rested  their  case 
almost  wholly  upon  the  theory  that  each  state  had 
joined  the  Union  separately  for  its  own  con- 
venience and  had  impliedly  reserved  the  right  to 
withdraw  at  its  pleasure.  From  an  historical 
and  legal  standpoint  there  was  much  to  support 
this  contention,  but  there  were,  at  least,  two  sides 
to  the  question.  As  a  subject  of  debate  it  was 
interesting;  but  had  there  been  no  other  issue  at 
stake,  it  is  probable  that  it  could  and  would  have 
been  settled  without  bloodshed.    The  real  cause 

176 


RESISTING    PRESSURE 

of  the  war  was  the  existence  of  slavery  which 
eleven  states  wished  to  prolong  and  twenty-three 
states  desired  to  extinguish.  Of  course  there 
were  many  individuals  in  the  Confederacy  who 
disbelieved  in  slavery  and  fought  solely  for 
states'  rights.  On  the  other  hand,  there  were 
any  number  of  Unionists  indifferent  to  slavery 
but  devoted  to  the  preservation  of  the  Union.  In 
any  event,  neither  side  openly  and  frankly 
admitted  that  the  institution  of  slavery  was  re- 
sponsible for  the  outbreak  of  hostilities.  The 
majority  states  asserted  that  the  Union  was  in- 
divisible and  the  minority  challenged  them  to 
prove  it. 

In  his  inaugural  address,  before  a  shot  had 
been  fired,  Lincoln  distinctly  stated  "I  have  no 
purpose,  direct  or  indirect,  to  interfere  with  the 
institution  of  slavery  in  the  states  where  it  exists. 
I  believe  I  have  no  right  to  do  so  and  I  have  no 
inclination  to  do  so/J 

Had  the  Confederacy  declared  that  it  was 
fighting  to  perpetuate  slavery,  it  would  have  lost 
the  support  of  many  of  its  ablest  men  and  for- 
feited the  sympathy  of  Europe.  Had  the  Union- 
ists proclaimed  a  crusade  against  slavery,  they 

177 


LINCOLN 

would  have  offended  some  of  their  associates  and 
won  the  approbation  of  the  civilized  world. 

But  no  disinterested  foreigner  could  be  ex- 
pected to  display  anything  but  indifference  to- 
ward a  struggle  to  determine  whether  the  Union 
was  or  was  not  dissoluble,  and  whatever  sym- 
pathy such  an  issue  did  invite  was,  naturally,  for 
those  who  were  struggling  to  terminate  a  distaste- 
ful partnership. 

Lincoln  fully  realized  this  situation.  But  from 
the  very  start  he  regarded  the  whole  country,  and 
not  merely  one  section  of  it,  as  responsible  for  the 
existence  of  slavery  and  had  faith  to  believe  that 
it  could  be  extinguished  by  peaceful  means.  It 
was  expressly  protected  by  the  Constitution  and 
until  the  provisions  of  that  document  were 
amended  by  the  people  it  became  his  duty,  as 
President,  to  uphold  the  law  of  the  land  as  he 
found  it. 

Of  course  the  whole  situation  had  been  radi- 
cally changed  by  the  outbreak  of  civil  war,  but 
for  at  least  a  year  and  a  half  after  the  formation 
of  the  Confederacy,  Lincoln  continued  to  regard 
the  seceded  states  as  parts  of  the  Union  and  re- 
fused to  permit  any  interference  with  their  rights 

178 


RESISTING   PRESSURE 

under  the  Constitution.  For  this  reason  he  repu- 
diated, on  September  11,  1861,  the  action  of  Gen- 
eral Fremont  in  issuing  a  proclamation  freeing 
the  slaves  in  Missouri,  much  to  the  indignation 
of  many  Republicans  and  of  all  Abolitionists. 

In  March,  1862,  he  recommended  to  Congress 
that  the  United  States  "cooperate  with  any  state 
which  should  adopt  gradual  abolishment  of 
slavery  by  giving  it  pecuniary  aid  to  compensate 
for  losses,  public  or  private,  that  might  be  pro- 
duced by  such  a  change  in  its  system." 

Congress  passed  the  necessary  resolution, 
which  applied  to  all  states  regardless  of  whether 
they  were  in  the  Union  or  claimed  to  be  out  of  it. 
No  response  to  this  suggestion  came  from  any 
Confederate  state.  But  Lincoln  was  not  dis- 
couraged. In  April,  1862,  he  successfully  nego- 
tiated an  effective  treaty  with  Great  Britain  for 
suppressing  the  African  slave  trade,  and  his 
action,  ratified  by  the  Senate  without  a  dissenting 
vote,  was  hailed  by  the  Union  states  as  an  en- 
couraging proof  that  the  President  had  not,  as 
some  of  his  critics  charged,  become  indifferent 
to  the  slavery  issue.    Nevertheless,  a  few  weeks 

179 


LINCOLN 

later  when  Congress  passed  a  very  radical  con- 
fiscation bill,  virtually  emancipating  slaves  in 
the  Confederacy  and  it  became  known  that  the 
President  intended  to  veto  it,  he  found  him- 
self violently  attacked  by  the  anti-slavery  men, 
who  did  not  hesitate  to  charge  him  with  disloyalty 
to  those  who  had  elected  him  and  with  traitorous 
solicitude  for  the  secessionists.  Lincoln,  how- 
ever, disregarded  all  such  accusations  and,  insist- 
ing that  Congress  had  no  power  to  abolish  slavery 
in  any  of  the  states,  refused  to  sign  the  bill  until 
his  objections  to  it  were  met.  The  Senate 
yielded,  but  not  without  bitter  protests  that  it 
was  being  coerced  by  the  President  and  forced  to 
"await  the  royal  pleasure"  before  its  will  could  be 
enacted  into  law. 

Meanwhile,  another  army  officer  attempted  to 
take  matters  into  his  own  hands,  for  on  May  9, 
1862,  General  Hunter  issued  an  order  emancipat- 
ing all  slaves  in  Georgia,  Florida  and  South 
Carolina.  Again  Lincoln  promptly  intervened 
by  declaring  the  order  absolutely  void  regardless 
of  the  storm  of  indignation  which  followed  his 
action. 

It  is  quite  impossible  to  exaggerate  the  nervous 
180 


RESISTING   PRESSURE 

strain  which  he  endured  in  defense  of  his  policy. 
The  pressure  came  from  all  sides  and  was  re- 
morselessly applied.  Never  a  day  passed  with- 
out subjecting  him  to  it  in  every  form  which 
political  expediency  or  fanaticism  could  devise. 
Yet  he  remained  firm  in  his  determination  to 
achieve  emancipation  by  popular  consent.  With 
this  idea,  he  issued  an  appeal  to  the  border  states 
to  take  the  lead  in  initiating  measures  for  the 
gradual  abolishment  of  slavery  on  the  basis  of 
compensation  to  be  provided  by  the  government. 

"I  do  not  argue,"  he  wrote.  "I  beseech  you  to 
make  arguments  for  yourselves." 

But  nothing  happened,  and  two  months  later 
the  discouraged  Executive  submitted  to  his 
Cabinet  the  draft  of  a  proclamation  giving 
nominal  freedom  to  slaves  within  the  seceded 
states  which  he  proposed  to  issue  solely  "as  a 
necessary  military  measure  for  the  restoration 
of  the  Union,"  and  to  be  accompanied  or  followed 
by  a  recommendation  for  legislation  covering 
compensation.  This  announcement  came  almost 
as  a  complete  surprise  to  the  members  of  the 
Cabinet,  but  was  generally  approved.     Seward, 

181 


LINCOLN 

however,  suggested  that  it  be  postponed  until 
the  military  situation  had  improved;  otherwise 
it  might  be  regarded  as  a  sign  of  weakness  rather 
than  strength.  Lincoln  immediately  saw  the 
force  of  this  criticism  and  withdrew  the  paper. 
No  news  of  this  episode  reached  the  public,  and 
about  a  month  later  Horace  Greeley,  the  famous 
editor  of  the  New  York  Tribune,  published  an 
open  letter  to  the  President  which,  to  no  slight 
extent,  voiced  the  popular  discontent  with  Lin- 
coln's policy.  Greeley  was  then  at  the  very 
height  of  his  power  and  the  influence  of  his  paper 
had  become  enormous.  In  fact,  the  editor  had 
grown  to  believe  that  he  was  the  real  power  be- 
hind the  government  and  could  enforce  his  opin- 
ions upon  it  almost  at  will.  However  that  may 
have  been,  he  adopted  a  most  offensively  over- 
bearing tone  in  addressing  the  President ;  did  not 
hesitate  to  proclaim  himself  the  spokesman  "of 
twenty  million  people";  charged  Lincoln  with 
remissness  in  the  performance  of  his  official 
duties;  accused  him  of  being  the  tool  of  poli- 
ticians, and  influenced  by  timid  councils,  implied 
that  he  was  showing  mistaken  deference  to  the 
South  or  otherwise  upholding  slavery  and  "re- 

182 


RESISTING   PRESSURE 

quired"  him,  in  the  name  of  the  people,  to  execute 
the  laws. 

Lincoln  did  not  see  that  arrogant  epistle  until 
two  days  after  its  publication.  Had  he  elected 
to  disregard  it  on  the  ground  that  it  was  beneath 
his  official  dignity  to  answer  a  communication  so 
indecorously  worded,  he  would  have  been  entirely 
within  his  rights.  No  such  thought,  however, 
entered  his  mind  and,  controlling  the  indignation 
he  must  have  felt,  he  immediately  indited  and 
published  the  following  masterful  reply : 

I  have  read  yours  of  the  19th  addressed  to  my- 
self through  the  New  York  Tribune  [he  wrote], 

If  there  be  in  it  any  statements  or  assumptions 
of  fact  which  I  may  know  to  be  erro- 
neous I  do  not,  now  and  here,  controvert 
them.  If  there  be  in  it  any  inferences  which  I 
may  believe  to  be  falsely  drawn  I  do  not,  now  and 
here,  argue  against  them.  If  there  be  perceptible 
in  it  an  impatient  and  dictatorial  tone  I  waive  it 
in  deference  to  an  old  friend  whose  heart  I  have 
always  supposed  to  be  right. 

As  to  the  policy  I  "seem  to  be  pursuing,"  as 
you  say,  I  have  not  meant  to  leave  any  one  in 
doubt. 

183 


LINCOLN 

I  would  save  the  Union.  I  would  save  it  in 
the  shortest  way  under  the  Constitution. 

If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save  the  Union 
unless  they  could,  at  the  same  time,  save  slavery, 
I  do  not  agree  with  them. 

...  If  there  be  those  who  would  not  save  the 
Union  unless  they  could,  at  the  same  time,  de- 
stroy slavery,  I  do  not  agree  with  them. 

My  paramount  object  in  this  struggle  is  to 
save  the  Union,  and  is  not  either  to  save  or  to 
destroy  slavery. 

If  I  could  save  the  Union  without  freeing  any 
slave,  I  would  do  it;  and  if  I  could  save  it  by 
freeing  all  the  slaves,  I  would  do  it;  and  if  I 
could  save  it  by  freeing  some  and  leaving  others 
alone,  I  would  also  do  that. 

What  I  do  about  slavery  and  the  colored  race, 
I  do  because  I  believe  it  helps  to  save  the  Union; 
and  what  I  forbear,  I  forbear  because  I  do  not 
believe  it  would  help  to  save  the  Union.  ...  I 
shall  try  to  correct  errors  when  shown  to  be 
errors,  and  I  shall  adopt  new  views  so  fast  as  they 
shall  appear  to  be  true  views. 

It  is  doubtful  if  English  literature  records  any 
finer  example  of  concise,  clear  and  convincing 
statement  than  that  famous  letter.  It  absolutely 
silenced  Greeley  for  a  time,  completely  satisfied 

184 


RESISTING   PRESSURE 

the  general  public,  fully  upheld  the  dignity  of 
the  nation  and  brought  to  its  harassed  leader  the 
encouraging  assurance  of  popular  support. 

But  the  relief  which  this  afforded  the  Presi- 
dent was  short-lived,  for  criticism  soon  became 
rampant  again  and  the  pressure  which  had  almost 
exhausted  him,  was  renewed.  All  sorts  of  people 
pestered  him  with  advice,  instructed  him  as  to  his 
duties  and,  by  letters,  resolutions,  committees  and 
delegations,  sought  to  force  his  hand  in  the 
slavery  issue.  It  was  wearing  work  to  make 
courteous  responses  to  all  these  self-appointed 
guardians  of  the  public  welfare,  and  Lincoln's 
phenomenal  patience  must  have  been  almost  at  an 
end  when  a  group  of  Chicago  clergymen  inti- 
mated that  it  had  been  divinely  revealed  to  them 
that  the  ill  success  of  the  Union  armies  was  a 
token  of  God's  displeasure  at  the  continuance  of 
slavery.  This  was  almost  more  than  the  wearied 
Executive  could  bear. 

I  hope  [he  responded]  it  will  not  be  irrever- 
ent for  me  to  say  that  if  it  is  probable  that  God 
would  reveal  his  will  to  others  on  a  point  so  con- 
nected with  my  duty,  he  would  reveal  it  directly 
to  me  .  .  .  for  it  is  my  earnest  desire  to  know 

185 


LINCOLN 

the  will  of  Providence  in  this  matter.  And  if  I 
can  learn  what  it  is,  I  will  do  it.  These  are  not, 
however,  the  days  of  miracles  and  I  suppose  .  .  . 
that  I  am  not  to  expect  a  direct  revelation. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

THE  EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION 

WITHIN  a  month  from  the  date  of 
Greeley's  letter  General  Lee  had  invaded 
Maryland  and  the  fate  of  the  Union  seemed  to 
hang  on  the  issue  of  his  venture.  No  wonder 
Lincoln  had  watched  McClellan's  movements 
with  deep  anxiety  and  when  the  Confed- 
erate advance,  checked  at  Sharp  sburg,  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  successful  retreat  across  the  Potomac, 
he  grew  impatient  with  his  general's  dilatory  tac- 
tics. Of  course  there  was  no  certainty  that  such 
a  commander  as  Lee  would  be  unable  to  extricate 
himself  from  the  difficult  situation  in  which  he 
found  himself.  But  he  had  a  broad  river  in  his 
path  and  with  all  his  genius  it  might  have  been 
impossible  for  him  to  cross  it  in  safety  had  he 
been  skillfully  pressed. 

It  was  for  some  such  opportunity  as  this  that 

Lincoln  had  been  waiting  to  launch  the  emanci- 

l  pation  proclamation.    The  invasion  of  Maryland 

had  been  thwarted  but  that,  at  best,  was  merely  a 

187 


LINCOLN 

negative  success,  far  short  of  the  convincing  dis- 
play of  power  which  the  occasion  required,  and 
for  this  reason  he  had  fairly  implored  McClellan 
to  follow  up  his  advantage.  But  as  the  days 
passed  without  bringing  even  a  promise  of  ener- 
getic action,  he  abandoned  all  hope  of  a  more 
favorable  result,  and  on  September  22,  1862, 
called  a  meeting  of  the  Cabinet. 

It  is  doubtful  if  those  who  attended  the  con- 
ference knew  the  purpose  for  which  the  President 
had  summoned  them.  Nor  did  they  immediately 
learn  it.  When  the  members  of  the  Cabinet  had 
assembled  Lincoln  picked  up  a  book  by  Artemus 
Ward,  the  popular  humorist  of  the  day,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  read  aloud  a  chapter  which  appealed  to 
him  as  particularly  amusing.  Some  of  the  lis- 
teners laughed  politely  as  the  reading  continued, 
but  others  made  no  attempt  to  conceal  their  im- 
patience at  such  frivolity.  And  doubtless  for 
them  it  was  a  sheer  waste  of  time.  Not  so,  how- 
ever, for  Lincoln.  Probably  he  had  never  heard 
of  the  French  paradox  to  the  effect  that  "the 
time  best  spent  is  the  time  we  waste."  But  at 
moments  of  stress  and  strain  he  acted  on  it,  pre- 
cisely as  he  had  done  during  his  circuit  days  when 

188 


THE   EMANCIPATION   PROCLAMATION 

he  sought,  in  wit  and  humor,  a  release  from  press- 
ing anxieties. 

The  six  days  that  followed  Lee's  retreat  had 
subjected  him  to  a  nervous  tension  that  had  to  be 
relaxed,  and  Ward's  droll  pages  afforded  the 
necessary  relief. 

Certainly  he  was  calm  enough  when  he  laid  the 
book  aside  and  drew  from  his  pocket  an  amended 
copy  of  the  proclamation  which  he  had  pre- 
viously submitted  to  his  advisers.  On  this  occa- 
sion, however,  they  were  not  requested  to  act  in 
an  advisory  capacity.  On  the  contrary,  he  at 
once  announced  that  he  would  not  invite  an  ex- 
pression of  opinion,  having  firmly  made  up  his 
own  mind  to  issue  the  preliminary  proclamation 
he  was  about  to  show  them  and  to  assume  entire 
responsibility  for  it  as  a  war  measure  under  his 
authority  as  supreme  commander  of  the  military 
and  naval  forces  of  the  United  States.  With  this 
explanation  he  read  the  document.  It  provided 
that,  with  certain  designated  exceptions,  all  slaves 
in  seceded  states  which  failed  to  resume  their 
functions  in  the  Union  by  January  1,  1863, 
would,  on  that  date,  be  declared  free. 

This  was,  at  most,  a  warning  to  the  Confed- 
189 


LINCOLN 

eracy  of  what  might  happen  if  the  war  did  not 
close  within  about  three  months.  The  final 
proclamation  which  followed  this  warning  had 
no  application  whatsoever  to  Tennessee,  nor  to  a 
number  of  counties  or  parishes  in  Louisiana  and 
Virginia  expressly  named  in  the  final  edict  and 
excepted  from  its  terms,  because  that  part  of  the 
Confederacy  was  already  controlled  by  the  Fed- 
eral armies  and  Lincoln  was  anxious  not  to  over- 
step the  limits  of  his  military  authority.  Save  as 
a  necessary  war  measure,  he  neither  had  the 
power  under  the  Constitution  to  interfere  with 
the  institution  of  slavery  in  any  place  where  it 
already  existed,  nor,  to  use  his  own  words,  had  he 
"any  inclination  to  do  so."  That  there  might  be 
no  misunderstanding  about  this,  the  proclama- 
tion specifically  provided  that  "the  excepted 
parts  are  for  the  present  left  precisely  as  if  this 
proclamation  were  not  issued" 

He  had  no  more  idea  of  attempting  by  procla- 
mation to  extinguish  slavery  in  the  Union-con- 
trolled Virginia,  Tennessee  and  Louisiana  than 
he  had  of  eliminating  it  in  Missouri,  Maryland, 
West  Virginia  and  Delaware,  where  it  then  pre- 

190 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN 

Brady    photograph,    1863,   about  the   time   of   the   emancipation 
proclamation.     From  the  collection  of  Frederick  Hill  Meserve. 


THE   EMANCIPATION   PROCLAMATION 

vailed  and  where  it  continued  in  full  force  long 
after  the  proclamation  became  effective. 

Such  was  the  instrument  which  is  popularly 
supposed  to  have  ended  slavery  in  America  with 
the  finality  of  a  thunderbolt.  It  did  nothing  of 
the  sort.  Nor  did  Lincoln  emancipate  the  slaves. 
He  did  something  far  greater. 

A  less  scrupulous  man  than  he  might,  under 
pressure,  have  yielded  to  the  temptation  of  usurp- 
ing his  authority.  A  dictator,  avid  of  power  and 
ambitious  to  figure  in  history  as  the  Emancipator 
who,  by  a  stroke  of  the  pen,  broke  the  shackles  of 
slavery,  would  certainly  have  seized  the  opportu- 
nity to  do  so  and  claimed  that  the  end  justified 
the  means.  But  Lincoln  was  neither  seeking 
self -glory  nor  posing  as  an  emancipator.  His 
ambition  was  to  have  slavery  end,  not  by  the  edict 
of  any  one  man,  but  by  the  will  of  the  American 
people. 

On  September  23,  1862,  the  preliminary 
proclamation  was  published.  Probably  no  one 
believed — least  of  all  its  author — that  any  such 
threat  would  cause  the  seceded  states  to  abandon 
hostilities.  Their  military  position  was  far  too 
secure.     Yet  there  was  some  chance  that  the 

191 


LINCOLN 

Union  armies  might  alter  the  situation  within 
ninety  days,  and  if  they  did  the  news  of  the 
proclamation  might  spread,  resulting  in  a  general 
exodus  of  the  slave  population.  It  was  estimated 
that  at  least  a  hundred  thousand  slaves  were 
serving  as  labor  troops  behind  the  Confederate 
lines  and,  of  course,  many  more  were  producing 
food  supplies  and  war  material.  Even  with  good 
organization,  approximately  three  men  in  the 
rear  are  required  to  support  one  man  at  the 
front,  and  the  number  of  combat  troops  avail- 
able to  the  South  was  so  strictly  limited  that 
slave  labor  was  a  vital  factor  in  enabling  its 
armies  to  keep  the  field.  Every  slave  that 
escaped  was  an  economic  loss  to  the  Confederacy 
affecting  its  war  effort,  but  whether  the  drainage 
would  be  materially  increased  by  the  proclama- 
tion was  extremely  doubtful.  The  vast  majority 
of  the  slaves  were  safely  beyond  the  reach  of 
their  would-be  deliverers,  no  small  proportion 
were  devoted  to  their  masters  and  would  not  de- 
sert them,  even  if  they  had  the  opportunity,  and 
the  chances  were  that  comparatively  few  would 
ever  hear  of  the  proclamation.  Nevertheless,  it 
was  fair  to  assume  that  it  would  encourage  run- 

192 


THE   EMANCIPATION    PROCLAMATION 

aways  and  to  whatever  extent  it  did  so,  the  re- 
sistance of  the  seceded  states  would  be  handi- 
capped. As  a  war  measure,  therefore,  it  was 
amply  justified. 

Up  to  that  time,  however,  very  few  if  any 
negroes  were  employed  as  combat  troops  in  the 
Union  army  *  and  none  at  all  served  as  soldiers 
in  the  Confederacy  until  its  white  man  power  had 
been  well-nigh  exhausted  and  the  tide  of  battle 
turned  against  it. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  the  military 
odds  had  been  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  South. 
Its  population,  as  a  whole,  was  much  more 
adapted  to  military  life  than  that  of  the  Union 
states,  far  more  enthusiastic  for  the  war  and 
better  prepared  for  it.  Moreover,  its  armies  held 
the  interior  lines,  were  operating  on  familiar 
ground  and,  most  important  of  all,  were  handled 
by  infinitely  abler  leaders.  But  by  1863  the  po- 
tential strength  of  the  Union  states  began  to  de- 

*  About  fifteen  months  after  the  emancipation  proclamation 
took  effect  Lincoln  stated  that  at  least  130,000  negroes  were 
serving  in  the  Union  forces  as  soldiers,  sailors  or  laborers.  (Let- 
ter to  A.  G.  Hodges,  April  4,  1864.)  The  Confederate  Congress 
passed  an  act  for  enlisting  negroes,  March  13,  1865,  but  slaves 
were  utilized  unofficially  as  laborers  (not  troops)  in  the  Con- 
federate military  service  almost  throughout  the  war. 

193 


LINCOLN 

velop  and  once  fully  exerted  could  not  be  denied. 
Indeed,  their  latent  power1  was  overwhelming. 
Twenty-three  states,  with  a  population  of  over 
twenty-two  millions,  almost  completely  con- 
trolling the  sea  and  the  manufacturing  industries 
of  the  country,  were  arrayed  against  eleven  states 
with  nine  million  inhabitants,  largely  engaged  in 
agriculture  and  practically  cut  off  from  the  sea. 
There  could  be  but  one  end  to  such  an  unequal 
struggle. 

Unquestionably  all  thinking  men  in  the  Con- 
federacy must  have  realized  this  situation,  and 
there  was  a  bare  possibility  that  within  the  ninety 
days  allowed  by  the  emancipation  proclamation 
they  might  conclude  that  they  could  make  better 
terms  inside  the  Union  than  out  of  it.  But  the 
splendid  fighting  spirit  they  displayed  through- 
out the  war,  and  which  is  now  a  matter  of  com- 
mon pride  to  the  whole  country,  spurned  the 
threats  of  the  preliminary  proclamation. 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

THE  AFTERMATH  OF  THE  PROCLAMATION 

McCLELLAN  was  still  the  idol  of  his 
troops  and,  to  no  small  extent,  a  popular 
hero  when  Lincoln  issued  his  warning  to  the  Con- 
federacy. But  almost  half  of  the  ninety  days' 
notice  passed  without  any  serious  effort  on  his 
part  to  improve  the  military  situation,  while  his 
political  activities  opened  him  to  the  suspicion 
that  he  had  not,  to  say  the  least,  any  sympathy 
with  the  administration.  The  result  was  that  on 
November  5,  1862,  the  President's  patience  be- 
came exhausted  and  he  relieved  "the  little 
Napoleon"  of  his  command. 

His  successor,  General  Ambrose  Burnside, 
was  a  very  different  type  of  man,  modest  to  the 
point  of  diffidence,  unambitious  for  authority, 
and  reluctant  to  assume  responsibilities.  Per- 
haps Lincoln  selected  him  because  of  those 
qualities,  but  the  choice  was  certainly  un- 
fortunate.    He    not    only    lacked     confidence 

195 


LINCOLN 

in  himself,  but  was  mistrusted  by  all  his  associ- 
ates, and  from  the  very  outset  demonstrated  his 
utter  incapacity  to  handle  the  task  which  he  had 
most  unwillingly  accepted.  Indeed,  his  campaign 
against  Lee  was  perhaps  the  worst  of  the  many 
sorry  exhibitions  of  generalship  which  had  dis- 
heartened the  Unionists,  and  within  a  few  weeks 
he  met  with  a  disastrous  defeat  at  the  battle  of 
Fredericksburg,  suffering  murderous  losses. 
The  press  immediately  accused  Lincoln  of  having 
forced  his  amateur  strategy  on  the  General,  but 
Burnside  promptly  denied  that  his  chief  had  been 
in  any  way  responsible  for  his  failure  which  he 
attributed  to  the  insubordination  of  his  principal 
officers.  In  fact,  he  prepared  an  order  removing 
General  Hooker,  General  Franklin  and  several 
other  ranking  commanders,  requesting  the  Presi- 
dent to  either  approve  their  dismissal  or  accept 
his  resignation.  Lincoln  chose  the  latter  alterna- 
tive, and  shortly  after  the  emancipation  procla- 
mation took  effect,  appointed  Hooker  to  the  va- 
cant post. 

General  Joseph  Hooker,  popularly  known  as 
"Fighting  Joe,"  was  an  officer  with  a  good  field 
record  and  a  picturesque  personality  that  had 

196 


THE  AFTERMATH  OF  THE  PROCLAMATION 

made  him  a  favorite  with  the  public.  His  dash 
and  self-confidence  appealed  to  the  troops  and 
no  commander,  with  the  possible  exception  of 
McClellan,  fired  them  with  more  enthusiasm.  All 
subordinate  officers  adored  him  although  some  of 
his  superiors  had  found  him  extremely  difficult, 
for  he  had  not  only  criticized  their  tactics  but  had 
been  most  unguarded  in  his  references  to  the  ad- 
ministration's conduct  of  the  war.  This,  how- 
ever, had  not  damaged  his  reputation  with  the 
general  public.  In  fact,  it  rather  admired  the 
freedom  with  which  he  aired  his  opinions  and  had 
come  to  regard  him  as  a  military  oracle  who  had 
the  science  of  war  at  his  finger  ends.  Of  all  this 
Lincoln  was  fully  aware,  and  it  was  not  without 
some  misgivings  that  he  decided  to  comply  with 
the  popular  demand.  But  he  could  not  permit 
the  new  general  to  assume  his  duties  under  any 
misapprehension  as  to  the  reasons  for  his  selec- 
tion or  the  results  which  he  would  be  expected  to 
produce.  He  accordingly  drafted  and  forwarded 
to  Hooker  what  is,  undoubtedly,  the  most  re- 
markable notification  of  a  promotion  that  any 
army  officer  ever  received. 

197 


LINCOLN 

General  [he  wrote] : 

I  have  placed  you  at  the  head  of  the  Army  of 
the  Potomac.  Of  course  I  have  done  this  upon 
what  appear  to  me  to  be  sufficient  reasons.  And 
yet  I  think  it  best  for  you  to  know  that  there  are 
some  things  in  regard  to  which  I  am  not  quite 
satisfied  with  you.  I  believe  you  to  be  a  brave 
and  skillful  soldier  which,  of  course,  I  like.  I 
also  believe  you  do  not  mix  politics  with  your 
profession,  in  which  you  are  right.  .  .  .  But  I 
think  that  during  General  Burnside's  command 
of  the  Army  you  have  taken  counsel  of  your  am- 
bition and  thwarted  him  as  much  as  you  could,  in 
which  you  did  a  great  wrong  to  the  country  and 
to  a  most  meritorious  and  honorable  brother 
officer. 

I  have  heard,  in  such  a  way  as  to  believe  it,  of 
your  recently  saying  that  both  the  Army  and  the 
Government  needed  a  Dictator. 

Of  course  it  was  not  for  this,  but  in  spite  of  it, 
that  I  have  given  you  the  command.  Only  those 
generals  who  gain  successes  can  set  up  dictators. 
What  I  now  ask  of  you  is  military  success  and  I 
will  risk  the  dictatorship.  ...  I  much  fear  that 
the  spirit  which  you  have  aided  to  infuse  into  the 
army  of  criticizing  their  commander  and  with- 
holding confidence  from  him  will  now  turn  upon 
you.    I  shall  assist  you  as  far  as  I  can  to  put  it 

198 


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FIRST    DRAFT,   IN  LINCOLN'S   HANDWRITING,   OF  A   BILL  FOR 
COMPENSATED    EMANCIPATION    OF    SLAVES    IN    DELAWARE 

From  the  collection  of  the  late  William  H.  Lambert 
Courtesy  of  The  Century  Company 

199 


LINCOLN 

down.  .  .  .  Beware  of  rashness,  but  with  energy 
and  sleepless  vigilance  go  forward  and  give  us 
victories. 

That  masterpiece  of  reproof  is  said  to  have 
moved  Hooker  to  tears,  but  within  four  months 
he  had  greater  cause  for  weeping.  At  Chancel- 
lorsville  he  was  superbly  outgeneraled  by  Lee 
and  Stonewall  Jackson  who,  with  only  half  the 
forces  at  their  adversary's  disposal,  routed  part 
of  the  Union  army  and  compelled  the  rest  of  it 
to  seek  refuge  behind  the  Rappahannock  River. 
But  Lee  counted  this  great  victory  as  a  calamity, 
for  it  cost  the  life  of  Stonewall  Jackson. 

The  days  following  the  disaster  at  Chancellors- 
ville  were  crowded  with  anxieties  for  Lincoln. 
There  were  rumors  afloat  that  France  was  re- 
considering the  recognition  of  the  Confederacy 
and  might  renew  her  unsuccessful  attempt  to  per- 
suade England  to  take  joint  action  with  her;  the 
public,  losing  confidence  in  the  administration, 
was  turning  to  the  Democratic  party  for  salva- 
tion; volunteers  were  failing  to  present  them- 
selves in  sufficient  numbers  to  recruit  the  army 
and  resort  had  to  be  made  to  the  draft,  which, 

200 


THE  AFTERMATH  OF  THE  PROCLAMATION 

more  or  less  unpopular  everywhere,  had,  in  some 
localities,  been  resisted ;  the  Treasury  was  having 
difficulty  in  raising  the  necessary  funds  to  finance 
the  war;  loud-mouthed  orators  were  touring  the 
country,  not  only  demanding  peace  at  any  price, 
but  inciting  the  troops  to  mutiny,  and  the  arrest 
of  some  of  the  most  dangerous  agitators  aroused 
storms  of  protest  from  their  followers. 

In  fact,  it  almost  seemed  as  though  the  eman- 
cipation proclamation  had  proved  to  be  a 
boomerang,  not  only  in  a  military  sense,  but 
civically  as  well.  Certainly  as  a  war  measure  it 
had  signally  failed,  for  since  its  issuance  the 
Confederacy,  instead  of  weakening,  had  gained 
strength  and  its  armies  had  practically  carried 
everything  before  them.  Slaves  escaped,  of 
course,  but  not  in  much  greater  numbers  than 
they  had  done  before  and,  except  in  a  legal  sense, 
they  were  no  more  free  than  they  had  been  when 
runaways  reached  free  soil  prior  to  the  procla- 
mation. Nor  had  it  encouraged  Lincoln's  cease- 
less effort  to  achieve  emancipation  by  purchase. 
This  had  become  the  very  backbone  of  his  policy, 
but  though  he  had  demonstrated  that  all  the 
slaves  in  Delaware  could  be  bought  for  less  than 

201 


LINCOLN 

the  total  cost  to  the  country  of  one-half  a  day's 
war,  and  that  every  slave  in  Delaware,*  Mary- 
land, Missouri,  Kentucky  and  the  District  of 
Columbia  could  be  acquired  for  less  than  eighty- 
seven  days'  war  expenditure,  the  proposition  had 
received  virtually  no  support.  No  saner  or  fairer 
suggestion  for  the  voluntary  abandonment  of 
slavery  had  ever  been  made,  yet  it  had  been  dis- 
regarded, and  to  all  practical  purposes  the  eman- 
cipation proclamation  had  not  resulted  in  free- 
ing even  a  single  slave.  It  is  difficult  to  imagine 
a  more  discouraging  situation.  Nevertheless,  an 
even  darker  day  was  already  dawning,  for  in  the 
midst  of  the  gathering  difficulties  and  disappoint- 
ments Lee,  at  the  head  of  his  heretofore  invincible 
army,  began  to  sweep  northward  into  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

*  Lincoln,  himself,  drafted  the  bill  which  was  introduced  in 
the  Delaware  legislature  for  the  gradual  compensatory  emancipa- 
tion of  the  slaves  in  that  state.  It  was  defeated.  The  MS.  of 
this  bill  in  Lincoln's  handwriting  (formerly  belonging  to  the  late 
Major  William  Lambert)  is  probably  the  most  valuable  Lin- 
colniana  document  in  existence. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI 

GETTYSBURG 

HOOKER,  somewhat  dazed  by  the  rough 
lesson  he  had  received  in  the  science  of 
war  at  Chancellorsville,  had  not  fully  recovered 
from  the  shock  when  the  news  reached  him  of 
Lee's  move.  In  fact,  he  was  plainly  bewildered 
by  his  opponent's  strategy  and  had  no  clear  idea 
of  the  point  from  which  or  against  which  the  ex- 
pected attack  would  be  directed.  The  result  was 
that  he  scattered  his  forces  in  an  effort  to  cover 
the  whole  field  of  maneuver,  rendering  concen- 
tration in  any  particular  area  extremely  difficult. 
His  first  constructive  suggestion  was  to  attack 
the  rear  of  the  advancing  Confederate  army,  and 
this  idea  he  submitted  to  the  already  overbur- 
dened President. 

"I  have  but  one  idea  which  I  think  worth  sug- 
gesting to  you,"  Lincoln  responded.  "I  would 
not  take  any  risk  of  being  entangled  on  the  river 
[Rappahannock]  like  an  ox  jumped  half  over  a 
fence  and  liable  to  be  torn  by  dogs  in  front  and 

203 


LINCOLN 

rear,  without  a  fair  chance  to  gore  one  way  or 
kick  the  other." 

Hooker  then  proposed  an  attack  on  Richmond, 
which  he  felt  sure  would  divert  Lee  and  end  the 
war.  But  Lincoln  would  countenance  no  such 
scheme.  Undismayed  by  the  panicky  confusion 
surrounding  him  and  undisturbed  by  the  con- 
tradictory recommendations  which  reached  him 
from  every  direction,  he  kept  his  head,  and  in  one 
memorable  sentence,  outlined,  not  only  the  best 
means  of  meeting  the  immediate  crisis,  but  the 
policy  which  should — and  finally  did — govern  the 
entire  operation  of  the  war. 

"I  think  Lee's  army,  and  not  Richmond,  is 
your  sure  objective,"  was  his  calm  response  to 
Hooker's  proposition. 

It  is  possible  that  that  keynote  of  the  correct 
strategy  may  have  been  struck  by  others  before 
it  was  sounded  by  Lincoln.  But  if  so,  it  met  with 
no  response  until  he  placed  his  finger  upon  it  with 
the  same  sure  touch  that  enabled  him,  as  a  lawyer, 
to  diagnose  "the  real  point  in  the  case." 

From  that  moment  Hooker  began  to  think 
more  clearly,  and  his  handling  of  the  forces  under 
his  command  became  characterized  by  good  judg- 

204 


GETTYSBURG 

ment  and  skill.  But  he  no  longer  possessed  the 
confidence  of  the  public  and  as  Lee's  plan  for 
invading  the  North  assumed  more  definite  shape, 
demands  reached  Lincoln  from  all  parts  of  the 
threatened  area  that  Hooker  be  removed  and 
McClellan  recalled  from  retirement  to  save  the 
situation.  Lincoln  had  no  intention  of  resorting 
to  any  such  desperate  expedient,  but  it  was  not 
easy  to  withstand  the  insistent  appeals  from 
governors  of  states,  municipalities  and  groups  of 
prominent  men,  imploring  him  to  reinstate  the 
still  popular  general.  To  answer  all  such  com- 
munications at  a  critical  moment  was  impossible, 
but  Lincoln  did  spare  the  time  for  a  kind  and 
highly  sympathetic  reply  to  the  Governor  of 
New  Jersey. 

"I  beg  you  to  be  assured,"  he  wrote,  "that  no 
one  out  of  my  position  can  know  so  well  as  if  he 
were  in  it  the  difficulties  and  involvements  of  re- 
placing General  McClellan  in  command." 

Nevertheless,  within  a  few  days,  while  business 
was  almost  at  a  standstill,  the  markets  of  the 
country  in  a  panic  and  the  capture  of  Harris- 
burg,  if  not  Philadelphia,  freely  predicted,  the 
President  found  himself  confronted  with  the  ne- 

205 


LINCOLN 

cessity  of  changing  commanders.  Rightly  or 
wrongly,  Hooker  had  involved  himself  in  a  con- 
troversy with  General  Halleck,  the  military 
adviser  at  Washington,  and  in  a  fit  of  rage  wired 
his  resignation. 

Whatever  may  have  heen  the  provocation  for 
such  an  action,  it  was  an  unpardonable  offense  in 
an  officer  of  Hooker's  standing  on  the  eve  of  a 
critical  engagement,  and  Lincoln  could  not  over- 
look it.  Nor  was  there  a  moment  to  lose.  He 
accordingly  relieved  Hooker  at  once  and  ap- 
pointed General  George  Meade  at  his  successor. 
It  was  a  perilous  move,  but  Meade  rose  to  the 
occasion  and  began  drawing  his  forces  together 
with  such  celerity  and  skill  that  Lee,  rapidly 
pressing  forward,  observed  the  change  and  con- 
cluded, without  actually  knowing  it,  that  a  new 
hand  controlled  the  Union  army. 

The  Battle  of  Gettysburg  which  followed  did 
not,  however,  reflect  carefully  planned  ma- 
neuvers either  on  the  part  of  Lee  or  Meade. 
It  was  forced  upon  them  by  a  minor  clash  be- 
tween the  approaching  troops  which  rapidly  in- 
volved greater  and  greater  numbers  until  it  pre- 
cipitated a  general  engagement  resulting  in  what 

206 


GETTYSBURG 

has  come  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  decisive 
battles  of  the  world. 

But,  strictly  speaking,  Gettysburg  was  not  a 
decisive  battle.  Even  after  Pickett's  famous 
charge,  in  which  the  finest  troops  of  the  Con- 
federacy were  almost  annihilated,  Lee  withdrew 
his  army  in  good  order,  waited  for  days  until  the 
flooded  Potomac  River  subsided  and  crossed  it 
practically  unmolested. 

Lincoln  followed  the  Confederate  retreat  with 
feverish  anxiety.  If  it  were  safely  accomplished 
he  knew  that  the  war  might  continue  almost  in- 
definitely, and  an  opportunity  to  close  it  seemed 
at  hand.  But  in  spite  of  all  urging,  Meade 
moved  out  of  his  entrenchments  with  the  utmost 
possible  precaution  and  never  even  threatened 
his  handicapped  opponent.  From  Lincoln's 
standpoint  it  was  the  Battle  of  Sharpsburg  over 
again — a  great  chance  of  ending  the  war,  com- 
pletely and  even  obstinately  missed.  In  his  bit- 
ter disappointment  he  wrote  a  dignified  letter  of 
reproach  to  Meade — more  in  sorrow  than  in 
anger — unmistakably  charging  him  with  the  re- 
sponsibility for  prolonging  the  war. 

But  that  letter  was  never  sent.  Probably  the 
207 


LINCOLN 

overwrought  President  remembered  the  advice 
he  had  given  Seward  when  the  Secretary  of  State 
had,  at  a  moment  of  great  tension,  announced 
his  purpose  of  writing  an  unbridled  dispatch  to  a 
foreign  government. 

"By  all  means  do  so,"  Lincoln  had  responded. 

But  when  the  dispatch  was  submitted  to  him 
his  only  comment  was  "Fine!  Now  tear  it  up." 

"What!"  exclaimed  Seward.  "You  advised 
me  to  write  it." 

"Certainly,"  Lincoln  had  replied,  "I  advised 
you  to  write  it.  But  I  did  not  say  send  it.  That's 
quite  a  different  matter." 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 

BEHIND  THE  LINES 

THE  Battle  of  Gettysburg  ended  on  July 
3,  1863,  and  within  twenty-four  hours 
Grant  announced  the  capture  of  Vicksburg. 
This  entirely  changed  the  military  situation,  and 
from  that  moment  the  Confederate  armies, 
though  still  formidable,  were,  except  on  rare 
occasions,  completely  on  the  defensive.  In  the 
meantime,  however,  an  even  more  important 
event  had  been  transpiring  far  from  the  firing 
line. 

The  one  hope  of  the  Confederacy  and  the 
gravest  danger  to  the  Union,  from  the  very  out- 
set of  the  war,  had  been  foreign  intervention. 
But  all  chance  of  that  had  disappeared  with  the 
issuance  of  the  emancipation  proclamation 
which  effected  a  marked  change  in  the  attitude 
of  other  nations  toward  the  Union  states.  Prob- 
ably they  thought,  as  most  Americans  did  and 
many  still  do,  that  Lincoln  had  liberated  the 
negroes  and  that  by  his  edict,  as  though  with  a 

209 


LINCOLN 

wave  of  a  wand,  slavery  in  the  United  States 
had  ceased  to  exist.  Had  they  understood  that 
it  was  still  in  full  operation  they  would  have 
been  sorely  puzzled.  Fortunately,  however,  they 
took  the  will  for  the  deed,  and  without  searching 
for  the  higher  purpose  in  Lincoln's  mind,  or  the 
ways  and  means  of  accomplishing  it,  grasped  the 
fact  that  the  war  was  being  waged  to  extinguish 
slavery. 

For  a  time  the  Emperor  Napoleon  had  con- 
tinued to  encourage  the  Confederate  envoys  to 
hope  for  his  support,  and  even  gone  so  far  as  to 
propose  that  England  and  Russia  join  with 
France  in  bringing  the  war  to  a  close.  But  when 
his  proposition  had  been  quite  promptly  and 
firmly  declined,  he  wisely  decided  not  to  inter- 
fere. This  left  Lincoln  free  to  give  all  his 
thought  to  guiding  public  opinion  in  the  United 
States  as  to  the  continuation  of  the  war  in  gen- 
eral, and  the  solution  of  the  slavery  problem  in 
particular. 

Local  approval  of  the  emancipation  procla- 
mation had  been  by  no  means  unanimous.  On 
the  contrary,  it  met  with  bitter  denunciation  in 
many  parts  of  the  Union,  and  small  but  influen- 

210 


BEHIND   THE   LINES 

tial  groups  were  formed,  calling  themselves  "the 
unconditional  Union  men"  who,  while  protesting 
loyalty  to  the  principle  of  preserving  the  Union, 
desired  to  disassociate  themselves  from  any 
effort  to  continue  the  war  for  the  purpose  of 
extinguishing  slavery.  In  September,  1863,  one 
of  those  groups  invited  the  President  to  attend  a 
mass  meeting  in  Illinois,  called  for  the  purpose 
of  enlisting  popular  support  of  their  views.  This 
provided  Lincoln  with  just  the  opportunity  for 
which  he  had  been  searching  to  guide  public 
opinion  directly  in  his  own  state  and  indirectly 
throughout  the  country.  Probably  he  never  had 
any  idea  of  attending  the  meeting,  but  in  advis- 
ing its  sponsors  that  pressure  of  public  business 
forbade  his  acceptance  of  their  invitation,  he  took 
advantage  of  the  occasion  to  express  his  views  of 
the  situation  in  no  uncertain  terms.  It  was  a 
courteous,  patient  and  tolerant  examination  of 
the  criticism  to  which  he  had  been  subjected,  but 
so  searchingly  logical  and  convincing  that  it 
placed  his  opponents  absolutely  on  the  defensive 
and  completely  disposed  of  their  contentions. 
Had  any  proof  been  needed  of  Lincoln's  intel- 
lectual leadership  that  letter  certainly  supplied  it. 

211 


LINCOLN 

You  are  dissatisfied  with  me  about  the  negro 
[he  wrote].  Quite  likely  there  is  a  difference  of 
opinion  between  you  and  me  upon  that  subject. 
I  certainly  wish  that  all  men  could  be  free,  while 
I  suppose  you  do  not.  Yet  I  have  neither  adopted 
nor  proposed  any  measure  which  is  not  consistent 
even  with  your  view,  provided  you  are  for  the 
Union.  I  suggested  compensated  emancipation, 
to  which  you  replied  that  you  wished  not  to  be 
taxed  to  buy  negroes.  But  I  had  not  asked  you 
to  be  taxed  to  buy  negroes,  except  in  such  way  as 
to  save  you  from  greater  taxation  to  save  the 
Union  exclusively  by  other  means. 

You  dislike  the  emancipation  proclamation 
and  perhaps  would  have  it  retracted.  You  say  it 
is  unconstitutional.  I  think  differently.  I  think 
the  Constitution  invests  its  commander-in-chief 
with  the  law  of  war  in  time  of  war.  Is  there — 
has  there  ever  been — any  question  that  by  the  law 
of  war,  property,  both  of  enemies  and  friends, 
may  be  taken  when  needed  ?  .  .  . 

You  say  you  will  not  fight  to  free  negroes. 
Some  of  them  seem  willing  to  fight  for  you;  but 
no  matter.  Fight  you,  then,  exclusively,  to  save 
the  Union.  I  issued  the  proclamation  on  pur- 
pose to  aid  you  in  saving  the  Union.  Whenever 
you  shall  have  conquered  all  resistance  to  the 
Union,  if  I  shall  urge  you  to  continue  fighting,  it 

212 


BEHIND   THE   LINES 

will  be  an  apt  time  then  for  you  to  declare  you 
will  not  fight  to  free  negroes.  .  .  . 

Lincoln  wrote  many  state  papers  which  rank 
as  literary  masterpieces,  but  for  relentless  logic 
he  probably  never  penned  anything  more  char- 
acteristic than  that  informal,  calm  and  judicial 
communication  which  practically  read  a  powerful 
group  of  malcontents  completely  out  of  court. 
No  blast  of  indignation  against  narrow-minded- 
ness could  possibly  have  had  the  same  effect.  Yet 
when  he  wrote  it,  Lincoln  was  suffering  from  the 
most  exasperating  forms  of  criticism  which  petty 
meanness  and  spite  can  inflict  on  public  men. 

Nothing  that  he  said  or  did  escaped  ridicule 
or  censure.  For  instance,  at  about  this  time  he 
happened  to  write  a  private  note  to  the  actor, 
James  H.  Hackett,  thanking  him  for  the  gift  of 
a  book  and  expressing  some  modest  and  perfectly 
legitimate  preferences  among  the  passages  and 
works  of  Shakespeare.  The  actor  indiscreetly 
published  this  letter  which  the  newspaper  scrib- 
blers seized  upon  to  scoff  at  the  President's 
literary  pretensions  and  jeer  at  his  taste.  Of 
course  Lincoln  had  long  been  accustomed  to  per- 

213 


LINCOLN 

sonal  abuse  and  had  no  time  to  waste  on  it.  In 
fact,  at  that  particular  moment  he  was  engaged 
in  preparing  the  Gettysburg  address,  now  en- 
shrined among  the  classics  of  English  literature. 
But  he  wrote  Hackett  somewhat  wearily  as  fol- 
lows: 

My  note  to  you  I  certainly  did  not  expect  to 
see  in  print ;  yet  I  have  not  been  much  shocked  by 
the  newspaper  comments  upon  it.  Those  com- 
ments constitute  a  fair  specimen  of  what  has  oc- 
curred to  me  through  life.  I  have  endured  a 
great  deal  of  ridicule  without  much  malice;  and 
have  received  a  great  deal  of  kindness  not  quite 
free  from  ridicule.    I  am  used  to  it. 

But  his  sense  of  humor  never  long  deserted 
him,  and  a  few  days  later  he  scribbled  a  note  to 
the  Secretary  of  War,  who  sometimes  rode 
rough-shod  over  his  recommendations  of  officers 
on  the  ground  that  the  applicants  had  insufficient 
military  qualifications. 

Dear  Sir: 

I  personally  wish  Jacob  Freese  of  New  Jersey 
to  be  appointed  colonel  for  a  colored  regiment, 

214 


BEHIND   THE   LINES 

and  this  regardless  of  whether  he  can  tell  the 
exact  shade  of  Julius  Csesar's  hair. 


His  correspondence  with  all  sorts  of  people  on 
all  sorts  of  subjects  was  too  voluminous  to  admit 
of  extended  letters.  He  used  scraps  of  paper, 
cards,  backs  of  envelopes  or  anything  that  came 
handy,  and  on  them  a  few  words  or  lines  were 
written,  either  commuting  a  court-martial  sen- 
tence, releasing  a  prisoner,  aiding  a  widow, 
granting  a  request,  or  otherwise  responding  to 
the  countless  appeals  made  to  him  by  politicians, 
friends  and  utter  strangers.  Almost  all  such 
memoranda  were  penned  in  his  own  handwriting, 
no  copies  were  made  and  no  record  of  any  kind 
kept  concerning  them.  Apparently  he  gave  no 
thought  to  the  possibility  that  those  hasty 
scribbles  might  perhaps  some  day  prove  em- 
barrassing or  be  used  to  catch  him  in  one  of  the 
innumerable  traps  against  which  busy  men,  in 
public  and  private  life  to-day,  have  to  take  pre- 
cautions. He  distributed  them  right  and  left 
with  perfect  confidence  that  they  would  be  used 
in  good  faith  by  those  he  was  trying  to  befriend. 

215 


LINCOLN 

Nothing  that  he  ever  wrote  is  more  character- 
istic than  the  few  words  hurriedly  written,  but 
rarely  scrawled,  on  those  slips  of  paper — un- 
guardedly and  with  no  self -consciousness.  They 
mirror  the  man. 

For  instance,  when  the  Governor  of  Ohio  ap- 
pealed to  him  to  save  a  deserter  from  being  shot, 
he  returned  the  letter  with  this  endorsement : 

The  case  of  Andrews  is  really  a  very  bad  one. 
Yet  before  receiving  this  I  had  ordered  his  pun- 
ishment commuted.  .  .  .  Not  on  any  merit  of 
the  case,  but  because  I  am  trying  to  evade  the 
butchering  business  lately. 

To  Stanton  he  wrote : 

A  poor  widow  by  the  name  of  Baird  has  a  son 
in  the  army  that  for  some  offense  has  been  sen- 
tenced to  serve  a  long  time  without  pay.  ...  I 
do  not  like  this  ...  it  falls  so  very  hard  upon 
poor  families.  .  .  .  At  the  tearful  appeal  of  the 
poor  mother  I  made  a  direction  that  he  be  al- 
lowed to  enlist  for  a  new  term.  .  .  .  She  now 
comes  and  says  she  cannot  get  it  acted  upon. 
Please  do  it. 

216 


BEHIND   THE   LINES 

As  a  court  of  last  resort  from  the  War  De- 
partment's orders,  the  wearied  President  had  to 
listen  to  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  such  cases 
involving  emotional  appeals,  harrowing  scenes 
and  interminable  details.  It  was  an  almost  un- 
endurable strain,  but  scarcely  a  day  passed  with- 
out some  such  toll  on  Lincoln's  strength,  already 
taxed  to  the  point  of  exhaustion.  Nothing  but 
his  sense  of  humor  saved  him  in  the  tragic  gloom 
of  his  surroundings. 

"...  Tell  this  officer  he  can  return  to  his 
post.  Supporting  Gen.  McClellan  for  the  presi- 
dency is  no  violation  of  army  regulations;  and 
as  a  question  of  taste,  I'm  the  longest  but  he's 
better  looking."  .  .  .  "These  poor  fellows  have, 
I  think,  suffered  enough.  I  turn  out  the  flock." 
.  .  .  "The  Governor  has  a  pretty  good  case.  We 
don't  want  him  to  feel  cross  and  we  are  in  the 
wrong.    Try  and  fix  it  with  him.  .  .  ." 

Every  occasion  for  humor  or  a  light  touch  he 
seized  upon  to  relieve  him  from  the  strain  of  thou- 
sands of  decisions  quickly  made  but  costing  the 
patient  man  who  made  them  far  more  than  those 
who  forced  them  on  him  ever  dreamed. 


217 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII 

GRANT  IN  COMMAND 

THE  capture  of  Vicksburg  had  brought  an 
answer  to  the  oft-repeated  appeal  of  the 
Union,  "Abraham  Lincoln!  Give  us  a  man!" 
and  on  July  13,  1863,  the  President  wrote  Grant 
the  following  characteristic  letter  regarding  his 
success : 

My  dear  General: 

I  do  not  remember  that  you  and  I  ever  met 
personally.  ...  I  never  had  any  faith,  except  a 
general  hope  that  you  knew  better  than  I,  that 
the  Yazoo  Pass  expedition  could  succeed — When 
you  got  below  and  took  Port  Gibson  ...  I 
thought  .  .  .  you  should  join  General  Banks, 
and  when  you  turned  northward  I  feared  it  was 
a  mistake.  I  now  wish  to  make  personal  ac- 
knowledgment that  you  were  right  and  I  was 
wrong. 

Up  to  that  time  more  than  one  leading  Union 
general  had  attempted  to  excuse  his  failures  upon 
the  ground  that  Lincoln  had  interfered  with  his 

218 


GRANT   IN   COMMAND 

well  laid  plans  and  upset  the  campaigns.  To  a 
very  large  extent  such  complaints  were  unjusti- 
fied, but  there  was  some  basis  for  them,  as  the 
President  had  undoubtedly  exercised  too  much 
authority  from  Washington,  especially  during 
the  early  stages  of  the  war.  But  Grant,  who  was 
appointed  lieutenant  general  and  placed  in  su- 
preme command  on  March  10, 1864,  never  sought 
to  shift  his  responsibility.  Nor  had  he  any  rea- 
son for  doing  so. 

"The  particulars  of  your  plans  I  neither  know 
nor  seek  to  know,"  Lincoln  wrote  him  at  the  very 
outset  of  his  duties.  "I  wish  not  to  obtrude  any 
constraints  or  restraints  on  you.  ...  If  there  is 
anything  wanting  which  is  in  my  power  to  give, 
do  not  fail  to  let  me  know  it." 

With  this  clear  statement  of  his  functions,  the 
President  not  only  relieved  Grant's  mind  from 
the  effect  of  any  stories  that  might  have  reached 
him  about  governmental  interference,  but  left  his 
own  free  to  attend  to  the  political  problems  and 
questions  of  state  that  were  crowding  thick  and 
fast  upon  him. 

The  year  1863  had  brought  one  of  the  greatest 
disappointments  of  his  life.    Congress  had  failed 

219 


LINCOLN 

to  pass  the  bills  which  he  had  recommended  and 
favored  for  gradual  compensated  emancipation 
in  such  border  states  as  Missouri,  Maryland  and 
West  Virginia. 

From  almost  the  very  outset  of  his  career,  com- 
pensation for  the  abandonment  of  slavery  had 
been  the  basis  of  his  policy.  In  his  opinion  it  was 
the  only  fair  and  practical  means  of  recognizing 
the  responsibility  of  the  whole  country  for  the 
existing  evil.  All  his  preliminary  moves  to  this 
end  had  been  successful.  He  had  induced  Con- 
gress to  record  itself  as  favoring  cornpensation 
to  any  state  either  within  the  Union  or  out  of  it 
that  would  voluntarily  extinguish  slavery;  had 
succeeded  in  the  governmental  purchase  of  most 
of  the  Delaware  bondmen,  had  obtained  legisla- 
tion prohibiting  slavery  in  the  territories  and  in 
the  District  of  Columbia — the  only  slave-owning 
area  over  which  Congress  had  jurisdiction  to 
interfere — and  had  issued  the  emancipation 
proclamation  which,  while  it  had  no  immediate 
result  on  the  war  and  liberated  practically  no 
slaves,  had  had  a  moral  effect  of  inestimable  value 
both  at  home  and  abroad. 

All  that  was  encouraging  as  far  as  it  went. 
220 


GRANT   IN    COMMAND 

Nevertheless,  slavery  continued  wherever  it  had 
previously  existed,  except  in  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia. Nor  was  this  the  worst  phase  of  the 
situation.  In  the  seceded  states  the  slaves  were 
nominally  declared  free  by  the  emancipation 
proclamation,  but  not  in  the  Union  slave  states. 
In  fact,  where  part  of  a  seceded  state,  like  Louisi- 
ana, was  Union-controlled  the  negroes  were  tech- 
nically free  in  the  Confederate  portion  and  actu- 
ally enslaved  in  the  Union  section.  The  main 
hope  of  altering  such  a  state  of  affairs  lay  in  per- 
suading Congress  to  promise  a  definite  sum  to  the 
Union  slave  states  that  would  accept  the  prin- 
ciple of  emancipation  upon  just  compensation, 
and  at  first  it  seemed  almost  certain  that  the  move 
would  succeed.  Nevertheless,  when  the  bill  for 
Missouri  along  those  lines  had  been  introduced 
and  passed  by  the  Senate,  it  failed  in  the  House, 
and  a  similar  bill  for  Maryland  and  West  Vir- 
ginia met  practically  the  same  fate.  In  the  face 
of  such  opposition  it  seemed  useless  to  press  simi- 
lar measures  for  the  other  states,  and  the  com- 
pensation policy  thus  came  to  a  complete  stand- 
still. 

Indeed,  it  is  a  sorry  fact  that  Congress  lost 
221 


LINCOLN 

faith  in  the  President  and,  to  no  slight  extent,  he 
lost  his  popularity  with  the  public,  at  the  very 
moment  when  by  constructive  statesmanship  of 
the  highest  order  he  was  urging  measures  which, 
had  they  been  promptly  enacted,  would  have  gone 
far  toward  solving  some  of  the  most  difficult 
problems  that  were  soon  to  confront  the  coun- 
try. 

Nevertheless,  though  disappointed,  he  did  not 
become  discouraged.  On  the  contrary,  he 
promptly  began  to  urge  an  amendment  of  the 
Constitution  abolishing  slavery.  This  was  the 
only  legal  way  of  extinguishing  the  evil  forever, 
and  although  the  withdrawal  of  the  Southern 
states  seriously  complicated  any  such  effort, 
Lincoln  pressed  the  matter  to  a  successful 
issue  in  the  Senate  which  almost  unanimously  en- 
dorsed his  policy.  In  the  House,  however,  the  bill 
met  with  defeat.  Most  of  the  Congressmen  sup- 
ported it,  but  enough  adverse  votes  were  cast  to 
prevent  the  two-thirds  majority  required  for  its 
passage. 

Had  the  opening  moves  of  Grant's  campaign 
succeeded  it  is  highly  probable  that  Lincoln 
would  have  regained  the  influence  that  he  for- 

222 


GRANT   IN    COMMAND 

merly  exerted  upon  Congress.  The  new  com- 
mander, however,  not  only  made  no  progress, 
but  sustained  such  enormous  losses  that  even  the 
firmest  friend  of  the  President  began  to  feel  that 
the  war  was  a  failure.  In  a  series  of  indecisive 
engagements  Grant  lost  nearly  55,000  men — a 
number  almost  equal  to  the  entire  force  under 
Lee — and  the  only  apparent  gain  was  that  the 
Confederate  commander  had  been  so  hard  pressed 
that  he  could  spare  no  reinforcements  to  the 
army  opposing  Sherman's  steady  march  toward 
Atlanta  and  the  sea. 

In  the  meantime  Chase,  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  began  maneuvering  to  supersede  his 
chief  by  obtaining  the  Republican  nomination 
for  the  presidency  while  professing  loyalty  to  the 
administration.  It  was  a  rather  petty  and  alto- 
gether disheartening  intrigue  which,  for  a  time, 
greatly  depressed  Lincoln,  not  because  he  was 
bent  on  securing  a  renomination,  but  because  he 
felt  himself  betrayed  in  the  house  of  his  friends. 
Horace  Greeley  openly  opposed  his  candidacy 
and  the  editors  of  several  other  powerful  journals 
took  similar  action,  while  the  radical  members  of 

223 


LINCOLN 

the  Republican  party  bitterly  denounced  his 
policies. 

All  these  domestic  troubles  were  complicated 
by  the  fact  that  the  French  had  intrigued  to  place 
Maximilian  on  the  throne  in  Mexico  and  were 
supporting  him  there  by  an  armed  force.  Prob- 
ably no  such  challenge  to  the  Monroe  Doctrine 
would  have  been  attempted  had  the  United 
States  been  at  peace,  and  even  as  it  was  Lincoln 
had  grave  difficulty  in  persuading  Congress  to 
postpone  action  that  might  have  involved  the 
country  in  a  foreign  war.  He  succeeded,  how- 
ever, in  this,  and  on  June  7,  1864,  found  himself, 
probably  much  to  his  surprise,  almost  unani- 
mously renominated  for  the  presidency  at  the 
Republican  National  Convention.  A  few  days 
later  Secretary  Chase  resigned  from  the  Cabinet 
and  toward  the  end  of  August  General  George 
McClellan  was  nominated  by  the  Democratic 
party,  while  a  discontented  group  of  radical  Re- 
publicans and  Abolitionists  nominated  General 
Fremont. 

Lincoln  was  naturally  encouraged  by  the  en- 
dorsement he  had  received  from  the  Republican 
party,  but  not  elated.    Indeed,  he  interpreted  it 

224 


GRANT   IN   COMMAND 

very  modestly  and  shrewdly  when  a  delegation 
called  to  congratulate  him  by  stating  that  the 
convention  had  probably  decided  that  it  was  not 
wise  to  swap  horses  while  crossing  a  stream,  even 
if  the  horse  was  so  poor  that  there  was  not  much 
risk  in  the  venture. 

During  the  campaign  which  followed  he  took 
no  active  part,  even  when  the  most  scandalously 
violent  attacks  were  made  against  him  personally 
and  officially  by  his  opponents,  and  especially  by 
the  Democrats  who  accused  him  of  almost  every 
disgraceful  act  that  malice  could  suggest.  It  was 
not  the  libels  and  slanders,  however,  that  affected 
the  public,  but  the  continued  bad  news  from 
Grant  whose  army  continued  to  batter  Lee  with 
no  apparent  result  and  an  almost  reckless  ex- 
penditure of  blood.  Indeed,  "the  war  is  a  fail- 
ure" became  the  favorite  slogan  of  the  opposition 
and  peace  at  any  price  was  openly  advocated  by 
many  friends  of  the  Union.  Among  those  who 
strongly  advocated  this  policy  was  Horace 
Greeley  who,  in  July,  1864,  translated  his  words 
into  action  by  announcing  that  envoys  of  the 
Confederacy  were  then  in  Canada  and  insisting 
that   Lincoln   appoint  representatives  to  meet 

225 


LINCOLN 

them  for  negotiating  peace.  At  this  crisis  the 
President  made  one  of  the  shrewdest  moves  of 
his  career  by  appointing  Greeley  himself  to  go  to 
Canada  and  bring  to  Washington  any  person 
duly  authorized  to  negotiate  peace  on  the  basis 
of  the  restoration  of  the  Union  and  the  abandon- 
ment of  slavery.  Of  course  there  were  no  such 
persons  to  be  found  and  Greeley  returned  from 
his  mission  a  sadder  but  not  a  much  wiser  man. 

Lincoln  would,  at  that  time,  have  probably 
been  willing  to  go  much  further  to  end  the  war 
than  he  indicated  to  Greeley,  for  on  August  17, 
1864,  he  drafted  a  letter  to  one  of  his  corre- 
spondents reading,  in  part,  as  follows : 

"If  Jefferson  Davis  wishes  for  himself,  or  for 
the  benefit  of  his  friends,  to  know  what  I  would 
do  if  he  were  to  offer  peace  and  reunion,  saying 
nothing  about  slavery,  let  him  try  me." 

This  letter  was  never  sent  but  it  clearly  indi- 
cates that  Lincoln  would  not  then  have  insisted 
on  the  extinction  of  slavery  as  a  prerequisite  of 
peace.  Nor  is  this  at  all  surprising.  He  never 
believed  that  slavery  should  be  abolished  by  force, 
but  by  the  consent  of  the  whole  country,  and  still 
hoped  it  might  be. 

226 


GRANT   IN   COMMAND 

With  the  election  only  about  two  months  away, 
the  general  outlook  was  that  he  could  not  be  re- 
elected. From  all  parts  of  the  country  there 
came  discouraging  reports  that  the  voters  were 
preparing  to  support  McClellan,  and  the  most 
experienced  politicians  among  the  Republicans 
were  of  that  opinion.  Indeed,  some  of  them  did 
not  hesitate  to  recommend  that  Lincoln  with- 
draw in  favor  of  some  stronger  candidate. 

There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  he  ever  con- 
sidered such  a  suggestion,  but  it  is  absolutely  cer- 
tain that  he  regarded  the  outlook  as  practically 
hopeless.  At  critical  moments  of  his  career  he 
had  acquired  the  habit  of  reducing  his  thoughts 
to  writing,  stating  the  facts  exactly  as  he  saw 
them  to  clarify  his  mind,  and  then  recording  his 
conclusions  merely  as  a  memorandum  for  his 
private  guidance  in  the  future.  He  did  this  on 
August  23,  1864,  when  he  had  convinced  himself 
that  his  public  life  was  drawing  to  a  close. 

This  morning,  as  for  some  days  past  [he 
wrote],  it  seems  exceedingly  probable  that  this 
Administration  will  not  be  reelected.  Then  it 
will  be  my  duty  to  so  cooperate  with  the  Presi- 
dent-elect as  to  save  the  Union  between  the  elec- 

227 


LINCOLN 

tion  and  the  inauguration ;  as  he  will  have  secured 
his  election  on  such  grounds  that  he  cannot  pos- 
sibly save  it  afterwards. 

This  was  probably  written  at  the  darkest  mo- 
ment of  the  war.  But  within  sixty  days  the  situa- 
tion completely  changed.  Sherman  entered  At- 
lanta; Farragut  won  the  battle  of  Mobile  Bay; 
Sheridan  controlled  the  Shenandoah  Valley; 
Fremont  withdrew  from  the  presidential  contest, 
and  on  November  8,  1864,  to  the  astonishment  of 
his  friends,  to  say  nothing  of  the  political 
prophets,  Lincoln  was  elected  by  an  overwhelm- 
ing vote.  McClellan  carried  only  three  states 
and  sufficient  Republican  and  Unionist  Congress- 
men secured  seats  in  the  House  of  Representa- 
tives to  guarantee  that  slavery  would  be  abol- 
ished by  an  amendment  of  the  Constitution. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

THE  DAWNING  OF  PEACE 

AS  the  year  1864  drew  to  a  close  the  broad 
i\  strategy  of  Grant's  campaign  became  ap- 
parent and  convinced  the  public  that  the  end  of 
the  war  was  at  least  in  sight. 

Until  the  supreme  commander  had  been  found 
and  accorded  full  authority  in  the  field,  there  had 
been  very  little  cooperation  between  the  various 
Union  armies.  But  when  Grant  assumed  control 
the  situation  changed  and  the  widely  separated 
forces,  assigned  to  definite  tasks,  began  to  move 
with  a  common  purpose. 

In  the  World  War  nearly  four  years  passed 
before  the  Allies  succeeded  in  achieving  a  unified 
command  and  it  took  Lincoln  almost  as  long  to 
find  his  generalissimo.  But  the  results  of  co- 
operation were  not  so  speedily  realized. 

Grant's  plan  was  extremely  simple.  Sherman 
was  to  sweep  through  the  Southern  states. 
Sheridan  was  to  bar  the  Shenandoah  Valley — 
the  granary  of  the  Confederacy — while  Grant 

229 


LINCOLN 

himself  held  Lee  closely  engaged  near  Richmond 
until  all  three  of  them  could  converge  against  the 
Army  of  Northern  Virginia.  Lincoln  had  defi- 
nitely advised  Hooker  that  Lee's  army  and  not 
Richmond  was  his  proper  objective,  and  he  may 
have  expressed  the  same  view  to  Grant.  But 
whether  he  did  so  or  not,  the  Union  commander 
made  that  army  his  main  objective  from  the 
very  start  of  his  operations  and  never  deviated 
from  it  for  an  instant.  Had  he  been  a  military 
genius,  like  his  opponent,  he  would,  undoubtedly, 
have  been  able  to  crush  Lee  single-handed,  for 
he  outnumbered  him  at  least  two  to  one  and  had 
an  enormous  advantage  in  supplies  of  every  sort. 
But  Grant  did  not  claim  to  be  a  strategist.  He 
was  a  dogged,  fighting  soldier  with  a  modest  con- 
ception of  his  own  abilities  and  a  very  clear 
realization  that  his  part  in  the  general  plan  was 
to  hold  his  opponent  in  a  bull-dog  grip.  Out- 
generaled by  Lee  at  every  move,  never  even  once 
defeating  him  and  frequently  suffering  appalling 
losses,  he  gave  his  skillful  adversary  no  rest. 
Foiled  in  a  crash  at  the  center,  he  flung  himself 
on  a  flank  and,  checked  there,  massed  his  forces 
on  another  part  of  the  line,  sometimes  hurling 

230 


THE   DAWNING   OF   PEACE 

them  against  solid  walls  which  often  staggered 
but  never  quite  stunned  them. 

It  was  not  magnificent  but  it  was  war.  Not 
the  brilliant,  chessboard  war  which  his  masterful 
opponent  conducted,  but  a  brutal  "war  of  the 
heavy  battalions,"  where  defeats  did  not  count 
and  the  cost  of  lives  was  measured  only  by  the 
number  of  days  it  shortened  the  conflict.  And  it 
did  shorten  them,  for  under  his  orders  General 
Thomas,  who  is  entitled  to  rank  among  the  ablest 
officers  that  Virginia  produced,  and  was  perhaps 
the  most  scientific  soldier  of  the  Union  com- 
manders, almost  destroyed  the  Confederate 
army  under  General  Hood  at  Nashville,  Ten- 
nessee, leaving  Sherman  free  to  move  northward 
for  his  juncture  with  Grant. 

Meanwhile,  Lincoln,  preparing  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  Union,  was  encouraged  by  the  news 
that  Maryland  had  voluntarily  abolished  slavery 
without  compensation,  and  Louisiana,  more  or 
less  under  pressure  and  with  no  very  convincing 
vote,  took  similar  action.  In  neither  case  were 
the  inhabitants  sufficiently  represented  at  the 
polls  to  demonstrate  that  a  popular  demand  ex- 
isted for  the  extinction  of  slavery  where  it  had 

231 


LINCOLN 

previously  existed,  but  it  was  a  first  step  in  the 
direction  in  which  Lincoln  was  leading  public 
opinion  and  which  he  ardently  hoped  would  influ- 
ence other  slave  states. 

At  about  this  time  Chief  Justice  Roger  Taney 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  whose  opinion  in  the  fa- 
mous Dred  Scott  case  had  been  a  factor  in  pre- 
cipitating the  war,  died  and  the  selection  of  his 
successor  gave  Lincoln  an  opportunity  to  demon- 
strate his  extraordinary  magnanimity.  But 
when  it  was  rumored  that  he  intended  to  appoint 
Chase,  the  ex- Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  a  storm 
of  protest  immediately  broke  forth.  To  the  poli- 
ticians it  seemed  incredible  that  Lincoln  should 
even  consider  for  the  greatest  office  within  his 
gift  the  man  who  had  not  only  attempted  to  dis- 
credit his  administration,  but  had  schemed  to 
supplant  him  as  President.  "If  Chase  covets  this 
office,"  they  advised,  "now  is  the  opportunity  to 
crush  him."  But  Lincoln  would  not  listen  to 
them. 

"I'm  not  in  favor  of  crushing  anybody,"  he  re- 
sponded. The  only  thought  in  his  mind  was  to 
find  the  right  man  for  the  post  and  believing,  as 
he  expressed  it,  that  Chase  "was  equal  to  about 

232 


THE   DAWNING    OF   PEACE 

one  and  a  half  of  the  best  men  he  knew  of,"  he 
appointed  him  to  the  chief  justiceship.  Perhaps 
he  had  already  written  the  words  "with  malice 
toward  none;  with  charity  for  all,"  but  he  cer- 
tainly practiced  that  principle  before  he  preached 
it. 

Within  a  month  came  the  first  real  overture 
for  peace.  Mr.  Francis  Blair,  Sr.,  a  close  per- 
sonal friend  of  Jefferson  Davis,  the  President  of 
the  Confederacy,  applied  to  Lincoln  for  a  pass  to 
enable  him  to  visit  Davis  and  recommend  a  peace 
conference.  If  any  one  could  successfuly  ap- 
proach Davis  with  such  a  suggestion,  Blair  was 
certainly  the  one  to  do  it,  for  the  Confederate 
leader  had  been  under  deep  personal  obligations 
to  Blair's  family.  But  although  Lincoln  facili- 
tated his  mission,  he  did  not  authorize  him  to 
make  any  official  representation  whatsoever,  nor 
would  he  listen  to  the  plan  which  Blair  had  in 
mind  for  enlisting  Davis's  interest.  Had  he  done 
so,  he  would  undoubtedly  have  discountenanced 
the  whole  business,  for  the  volunteer  emissary  in- 
tended to  and  did  present  to  Davis  a  scheme 
whereby  the  Confederate  army,  under  cover  of  a 
secret  armistice,  was  to  make  common  cause  with 

233 


LINCOLN 

the  Mexicans  in  expelling  the  Emperor  Maxi- 
milian whose  throne  was  supported  by  the 
French.  In  this  expedition  (for  vindicating  the 
Monroe  Doctrine!)  Union  troops  were  to  co- 
operate, with  the  result  that  Mexico  would  soon 
oust  the  invaders  and  might  apply  for  admission 
to  the  reunited  Union.  It  is  not  certain  just 
what  effect  this  fantastic  proposal  had  on  Davis's 
mind.  But  he  finally  submitted  a  written  memo- 
randum informing  Lincoln  that  if  he  would  ap- 
point an  official  representative,  a  Confederate 
envoy  would  be  authorized  to  confer  with  him 
"with  a  view  to  secure  peace  to  the  two  coun- 
tries." 

When  Lincoln  read  this  note  he  immediately 
empowered  Blair  to  reply  that  any  agent  Davis 
cared  to  send  would  be  informally  received  with 
a  view  to  "securing  peace  to  the  people  of  our 
one  common  country." 

The  significant  wording  of  this  response  clari- 
fied the  situation.  It  plainly  indicated  that  Lin- 
coln never  had  considered,  and  would  not  con- 
sider, the  confederated  states  as  out  of  the  Union 
and  that  no  negotiations  were  practical  which 
did  not,  at  least  tacitly,  concede  that  they  would 

234 


THE  DAWNING   OF  PEACE 

be  conducted  between  fellow  countrymen.  For 
a  time  it  looked  as  though  this  condition  would 
prevent  any  conference,  but  after  somewhat 
lengthy  correspondence,  Davis  appointed  Judge 
Campbell  his  Assistant  Secretary  of  War,  Sena- 
tor Hunter  and  Alexander  Stephens,  the  Vice- 
President  of  the  Confederacy,  as  Peace  Commis- 
sioners, and  on  February  3, 1865,  three  days  after 
the  constitutional  amendment  abolishing  slavery 
passed  both  Houses  of  Congress,  they  met  Lin- 
coln and  Seward  on  a  United  States  steamer  an- 
chored in  Hampton  Roads. 

Alexander  Stephens  was  far  the  ablest  of  the 
Confederate  envoys  and  had  originally  been 
strongly  opposed  to  secession.  But  in  course  of 
time  he  had  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  res- 
toration of  the  Union  was  impossible  and  at- 
tended the  Conference  with  his  mind  firmly  made 
up  on  that  issue.  Nevertheless,  Lincoln  and  he 
were  personally  acquainted,  liked  each  other  and 
had  carried  on  a  friendly  correspondence  before 
the  outbreak  of  war.  The  chances  of  an  amicable 
discussion  of  the  whole  situation  were  therefore 
promising.  But  Stephens  began  by  assuming 
■that  Lincoln  was  not  only  aware,  but  had  ap- 

235 


LINCOLN 

proved  of  Blair's  plan  for  ending  the  war.  The 
President  at  once  declared  that  he  did  not  know 
it  and  had  refused  to  hear  what  it  was.  "The 
restoration  of  the  Union  is  a  sine  qua  non  with 
me,"  he  announced,  adding  that  the  extinction 
of  slavery  was  also  a  prerequisite  of  peace. 

With  the  atmosphere  thus  cleared,  Stephens 
inquired  whether  the  Confederate  states  would 
be  assured  of  representation  in  Congress  on  the 
cessation  of  hostilities.  Lincoln  replied  that  they 
certainly  "ought  to  be,  but  he  could  not  enter 
into  any  stipulation  on  the  subject"  while  the  war 
continued.  This  response  seemed  to  surprise 
Senator  Hunter  who  reminded  the  President 
there  was  a  precedent  for  such  action,  as  Charles 
I  had  promised  the  Parliamentarian  party  full 
representation  while  civil  war  was  still  progres- 
sing. To  which  Lincoln  smilingly  responded  that 
he  did  not  profess  to  be  posted  on  history,  but  was 
strongly  under  the  impression  that  Charles  I  had 
lost  his  head. 

Then  he  impulsively  turned  to  the  Confederate 
Vice-President. 

"Stephens,"  he  began,  "if  I  resided  in  Georgia 
with  my  present  sentiments,  I'll  tell  you  what  I 

236 


THE   DAWNING   OF   PEACE 

'JVcu^u^G^,  &e£  fO.  /{TCP 

/^-d_        £fMai-e^O      /•w  yie^Cfc^>w^     Co       /2-zj2a^c^C    ^-*v».«-   /^e »~- •*■    ^» 
0^U     V 'Evo£x>^rx— v     uShZp~**s    /*^"£-ifs**^~-Zj     <S^**c>cCC*^s    />vrvC^.v, 

LETTER  FROM  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  TO  A.  H.   STEPHENS. 

From  the  original  in  the  Pierpont  Morgan  Library 

would  do  if  I  were  in  your  place:  I  would  go 
home  and  get  the  Governor  of  the  state  to  call 
the  legislature  together,  and  get  them  to  recall 
all  the  state  troops  from  the  war;  elect  senators 
and  members  of  Congress  and  ratify  this  consti- 
tutional amendment  [the  13th]  prospectively,  so 
as  to  take  effect — say  in  five  years.  ...  I  have 
looked  into  the  subject  and  think  such  a  prospec- 
tive ratification  would  be  valid.  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  views  of  your  people  before  the 
war,  they  must  be  convinced  now  that  slavery  is 
doomed.  It  cannot  last  long  in  any  event,  and 
the  best  course,  it  seems  to  me,  for  your  public 

237 


LINCOLN 

men  to  pursue,  would  be  to  adopt  such  a  policy 
as  will  avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  the  evils  of  im- 
mediate emancipation.  This  would  be  my  course, 
if  I  were  in  your  place." 

He  then  went  on  to  inform  the  Commissioners 
that  as  far  as  any  confiscation  acts  and  other 
penal  acts  were  concerned  their  enforcement  was 
left  entirely  with  him,  and  on  his  assurance  per- 
fect reliance  might  be  placed.  He  would  exercise 
the  power  of  the  Executive  with  the  utmost 
liberality ;  he  would  be  willing  to  be  taxed  to  re- 
munerate the  Southern  people  for  their  slaves; 
he  believed  the  people  of  the  North  were  as  re- 
sponsible for  slavery  as  the  people  of  the  South 
and  if  the  war  should  cease  with  the  voluntary 
abolition  of  slavery  by  the  states  he  would  be  in 
favor,  individually,  of  the  government  paying  a 
fair  indemnity  for  the  loss  to  the  slave-owners; 
he  believed  this  feeling  had  extensive  existence 
in  the  North;  he  knew  some  who  were  in  favor 
of  an  appropriation  as  high  as  four  hundred  mil- 
lions of  dollars  for  this  purpose.  These  views, 
he  added,  expressed  his  own  feelings  and  what 
he  believed  to  be  the  sentiments  of  others. 

The  conference  ended  without  reaching  any 

238 


THE  DAWNING   OF  PEACE 

conclusion,  and  on  receiving  the  report  of  his 
representatives  Davis  flatly  rejected  peace  on 
any  such  basis  with  the  approval  of  his  closest 
advisers  and,  as  far  as  it  could  be  ascertained,  the 
general  support  of  public  opinion  in  the  seceded 
states.  Later  on  some  of  the  Commissioners  and 
other  leaders  of  the  Confederacy  changed  their 
minds  sufficiently  to  request  Davis  to  resume  ne- 
gotiations, but  he  definitely  refused  to  consider 
such  action.  Nevertheless,  Grant  and  Lee  got 
into  communication  with  each  other,  probably 
with  the  hope  that  they  could  bring  the  war  to  a 
close,  but  when  the  Union  commander  received 
instructions  that  any  such  conference  must  be 
strictly  confined  to  military  matters,  he  informed 
Lee  of  the  situation  and  abandoned  the  proposed 
meeting. 

Lee  was  far  too  good  a  soldier  to  leave  Davis 
in  any  doubt  as  to  the  military  outlook.  With- 
out admitting  that  it  had  become  absolutely  hope- 
less he  calmly  and  accurately  presented  the  facts, 
placing  himself  absolutely  at  the  disposition  of 
the  civil  authorities,  but  holding  out  no  promise 
that  he  could  long  maintain  his  army  in  the  field. 
But  Davis,  although  an  exceedingly  able  and  sin- 

239 


LINCOLN 

cere  man,  had  become  a  fanatic  on  the  subject  of 
the  dissolution  of  the  Union.  He  therefore  dis- 
couraged further  negotiations  and  roused  the 
Confederate  Congress  to  such  a  pitch  that  it 
issued  an  inflammatory  appeal  to  the  South,  an- 
nouncing that  the  United  States  would  confiscate 
the  property  of  Southern  landowners  and  dis- 
tribute it  among  the  slaves.  On  what  it  based 
that  fantastic  notion  it  is  impossible  to  state,  but 
nothing,  of  course,  was  further  from  Lincoln's 
mind.  On  the  contrary,  within  a  few  days  of  the 
Conference  at  Hampton  Roads  he  drafted  and 
submitted  to  the  Cabinet  a  proposed  message  to 
Congress  recommending  that  four  hundred  mil- 
lion dollars  in  Government  six  per  cent  bonds  be 
paid  to  the  Confederate  states  and  five  other 
slave-holding  states  as  compensation  for  their 
slaves  to  be  distributed  among  them  according  to 
their  slave  populations  of  1860,  provided  the  war 
ceased  by  April  1,  1865 — a  period  of  less  than 
sixty  days.  One-half  of  this  enormous  sum  was 
to  be  paid  on  the  declaration  of  peace  and  the  bal- 
ance on  the  adoption  of  the  constitutional  amend- 
ment abolishing  slavery. 

This  proposal  was  not  approved  by  the  Cabinet 
240 


THE   DAWNING   OF   PEACE 

but  it  demonstrates  Lincoln's  attitude  toward 
what  he  regarded  as  the  national  responsibility 
and  gives  force  to  the  immortal  words  he  uttered 
during  his  second  inaugural  address  of  March  4, 
1865. 

Fondly  do  we  hope — fervently  do  we  pray — 
that  this  mighty  scourge  of  war  may  speedily 
pass  away.  Yet  if  God  wills  that  it  continue  un- 
til all  the  wealth  piled  by  the  bondman's  250 
years  of  unrequited  toil  shall  be  sunk  and  until 
every  drop  of  blood  drawn  by  the  lash  shall  be 
paid  with  another  drawn  by  the  sword,  as  was 
said  three  thousand  years  ago,  so  still  it  must  be 
said,  "The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true  and 
righteous  altogether." 

With  malice  toward  none ;  with  charity  toward 
all ;  with  firmness  in  the  right,  as  God  gives  us  to 
see  the  right,  let  us  strive  on  to  finish  the  work 
we  are  in;  to  bind  up  the  nation's  wounds  .  .  . 
and  to  do  all  which  may  achieve  and  cherish  a 
just  and  lasting  peace  among  ourselves  and  with 
all  nations. 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE  CLOSE  OF  HOSTILITIES 

WHILE  Lincoln  was  vainly  striving  to 
end  the  war  without  further  bloodshed, 
Sherman  left  Atlanta  and  moved  northward  to 
join  forces  with  Grant.  Up  to  this  time  the  in- 
habitants of  the  cotton  states  had,  for  the  most 
part,  been  free  from  direct  contact  with  the  war. 
Sherman's  almost  unopposed  northern  march, 
however,  brought  it  home  to  them  in,  perhaps, 
its  ugliest  form,  for  public  property  was  de- 
stroyed, private  homes  invaded  and  the  civilian 
population  subjected  to  many  of  the  hardships 
involved  in  the  passage  of  troops.  On  the  whole, 
Sherman's  forces  were  well  disciplined  and  under 
control.  But  it  was  impossible  to  prevent  indi- 
vidual outrages.  Foraging  and  straggling  lent 
themselves  to  all  sorts  of  lamentable  abuses, 
leaving  such  bitter  memories  that  nearly  half  a 
century  passed  before  they  were  wiped  out. 
Sherman  was  by  no  means  a  ruthless  man,  nor 
242 


THE   CLOSE   OF   HOSTILITIES 

was  he  vindictive  toward  the  people  of  the  Con- 
federacy. On  the  contrary,  he  sympathized  with 
them  to  such  an  extent  that  he  almost  ruined  his 
military  career  at  the  close  of  the  war  by  accord- 
ing far  more  liberal  terms  to  his  opponents  than 
were  authorized  by  the  Johnston  administration 
and  suffered  personal  and  professional  indignities 
for  his  over-generosity.  Possibly  he  might,  with 
more  rigorous  discipline,  have  prevented  some  of 
the  offenses  which  his  soldiers  committed  against 
innocent  civilians.  But  he  had  to  depend  on 
subordinates,  many  of  whom  were  inexperienced, 
to  supervise  the  execution  of  his  orders,  and  com- 
pared with  the  brutalities  inflicted  on  the  Bel- 
gians by  the  invading  Germans  in  1914,  the  most 
lawless  acts  of  his  troops  were  insignificant  trifles. 
No  commander  can  fairly  be  held  responsible  for 
failing  to  repress  every  exhibition  of  wanton 
cruelty  and  injustice  by  irresponsible  members 
of  his  command.  Crimes  were  undoubtedly  com- 
mitted along  Sherman's  line  of  march  and  un- 
necessary hardships  endured,  but  they  were  inci- 
dental to  war  which  he  rightly  described  as  "hell," 
and  were  neither  incited,  nor  condoned.  Penn- 
sylvania experienced,  in  a  minor  form,  somewhat 

243 


LINCOLN 

similar  outrages  during  Lee's  brief  invasion  in 
spite  of  all  he  could  do  to  prevent  them. 

By  March  27,  1865,  Sherman  was  in  touch 
with  Grant,  and  Lincoln  hurried  down  from 
Washington  to  meet  them,  in  the  hope  that  they 
could  suggest  some  plan  by  which  further  fight- 
ing could  be  avoided.  Lee's  army  was  then  al- 
most surrounded  and  practically  starving,  but  its 
gallant  survivors  were  not  ready  to  surrender. 
If  they  could  succeed  in  slipping  through  the 
encircling  troops  there  was  always  a  chance  that 
they  would  take  refuge  in  the  mountains  and  con- 
tinue some  sort  of  hostilities  indefinitely.  It  was, 
therefore,  Grant's  and  Sherman's  opinion  that 
the  campaign  must  be  carried  out  as  planned. 

But  the  end  came  sooner  than  any  one  ex- 
pected, for  within  a  week  Richmond  was  taken 
and  a  few  days  later  Lee  surrendered  the  rem- 
nant of  the  well-nigh  invincible  Army  of  North- 
ern Virginia. 

The  meeting  between  the  two  commanders 
honored  both  of  them.  Indeed,  it  subsequently 
proved  a  potent  factor  in  reconciling  the  divided 
country.  Grant  was  simple,  unaffected,  cour- 
teous and  considerate,  and  Lee  dignified,  frank 

244 


THE   CLOSE   OF   HOSTILITIES 

and  appreciative  of  the  generous  response  made 
to  every  suggestion  he  advanced. 

When  the  news  of  Lee's  surrender  reached  the 
Union  army  it  was  greeted  with  a  glad  booming 
of  guns.  But  Grant  instantly  stopped  this,  issu- 
ing strict  orders  that  the  troops  be  held  closely 
within  their  own  lines  and  that  no  one  except  of- 
ficers specially  assigned  to  assist  the  Confederates 
in  mustering  out  their  men  should  witness  their 
dispersal. 

Meanwhile,  Lincoln  had  visited  Richmond, 
walking,  unattended,  through  its  streets  without 
incident  of  any  kind,  save  the  friendly  greetings 
of  the  colored  people  who  flocked  about  him,  some 
of  them  apparently  regarding  him  as  their  new 
"Massa,"  and  others  merely  lured  by  curious  in- 
terest in  his  extraordinary  height. 

He  returned  to  Washington  by  steamer  accom- 
panied by  a  small  group  of  friends,  among  whom 
was  Senator  Sumner,  whose  views  on  the  recon- 
struction of  the  seceded  states  and  on  the  en- 
franchisement of  the  negroes  did  not  at  all 
coincide  with  the  President's.  But  Lincoln  was 
in  no  mood  to  discuss  controversial  questions, 
and,  probably  to  avoid  them,  produced  a  copy  of 

245 


LINCOLN 

Shakespeare  from  which  he  read  aloud  to  the 
little  company  certain  passages  from  Macbeth. 
Among  them  were  these  lines: 

Duncan  is  in  his  grave; 

After  life's  fitful  fever  he  sleeps  well; 

Treason  has  done  his  worst;  nor  steel,  nor  poison, 

Malice  domestic,  foreign  levy, — nothing 

Can  touch  him  further. 

Probably  it  was  merely  by  chance  that  he  read 
those  words  so  prophetic  of  his  rapidly  approach- 
ing end.  But  that  is  not  the  only  strange 
coincidence  associated  with  the  closing  week  of 
his  life.  Some  few  days  later  he  spoke  to  the 
members  of  the  Cabinet  at  a  meeting  which  Grant 
attended  of  a  dream  he  had  had  during  the  pre- 
vious night.  In  this  dream,  Lincoln  asserted,  he 
saw  himself  sailing  on  a  strange  craft  headed 
straight  for  an  unrecognizable  shore.  He  had, 
he  declared,  repeatedly  gone  through  the  same 
experience,  usually  just  before  a  victory  such  as 
Antietam,  Gettysburg  or  Murfreesboro,  and 
had  come  to  regard  it  as  a  happy  omen.  No  one 
seemed  to  be  much  impressed  by  the  story,  and 

246 


THE   CLOSE   OF   HOSTILITIES 

least  of  all  Grant  whose  literal  mind  would  not 
permit  him  to  accept  the  President's  interpreta- 
tion of  the  dream.  Murfreesboro,  he  re- 
marked, was  not  much  of  a  battle  and  certainly 
no  victory.  With  that  the  meeting  passed  to 
official  business. 

If  the  memory  of  those  who  recalled  this  in- 
cident is  accurate,  it  would  almost  seem  as  though 
Lincoln  had  a  premonition  that  his  work  had 
finished. 


CHAPTER  XLI 

LINCOLN'S  LAST  DAY 

ON  the  evening  of  April  11,  1865,  a  con- 
siderable company  gathered  at  the  White 
House  to  congratulate  the  President  on  the 
favorable  prospect  for  terminating  the  war  with- 
out further  hostilities.  The  occasion  was  quite 
informal,  but  Lincoln  made  a  short  address  to  his 
visitors.  It  was  not  a  prepared  speech  and  had 
no  literary  value,  but  it  proved  to  be,  perhaps, 
the  most  important  utterance  of  his  public  career, 
for  it  outlined  his  views  on  reconstruction.  He 
began  by  defending  his  support  of  the  recently 
established  government  in  Louisiana,  despite  the 
fact  that  it  had  been  formed  by  a  very  small 
minority  of  the  voters. 

As  to  sustaining  it  [he  announced],  my 
promise  is  out.  But  as  bad  promises  are  better 
broken  than  kept,  I  shall  treat  this  as  a  bad 
promise  and  break  it  whenever  I  shall  be  con- 
vinced that  keeping  it  is  adverse  to  the  public 
interest.  ...  I  have  been  shown  a  letter  on  this 

248 


LINCOLN  S   LAST   DAY 

subject  .  .  .  in  which  the  writer  expresses  regret 
that  my  mind  has  not  seemed  to  be  definitely 
fixed  on  the  question  whether  the  seceded  states, 
so-called,  are  in  the  Union  or  out  of  it.  .  .  . 

If  Lincoln's  audience  supposed  that  they  were 
about  to  hear  a  legal  argument  on  this  technical 
point  they  were  not  familiar  with  his  career  on 
the  Illinois  circuit.  Lawyers  are  generally  sup- 
posed to  delight  in  legal  quibbles,  but  Lincoln 
had  always  despised  them,  and  he  disposed  of  this 
one  with  the  same  directness  and  common  sense 
that  had  always  characterized  his  search,  as  a 
lawyer  and  as  a  statesman,  for  the  real  and  not 
the  technical  point  at  issue. 

That  question  [he  declared]  is  bad  as  the  basis 
of  controversy  and  good  for  nothing  at  all — a 
merely  pernicious  abstraction.  We  all  agree  that 
the  seceded  states,  so-called,  are  out  of  their 
proper  practical  relation  to  the  Union  and  that 
the  sole  object  of  the  Government,  civil  and  mili- 
tary ...  is  to  again  get  them  into  that  proper 
practical  relation.  I  believe  that  it  is  not  only 
possible,  but  in  fact  easier  to  do  this  without  de- 
ciding or  even  considering  whether  these  states 
have  ever  been  out  of  the  Union,  than  with  it. 

249 


LINCOLN 

Finding  themselves  safely  at  home,  it  would  be 
utterly  immaterial  whether  they  had  ever  been 
abroad.  Let  us  all  join  in  doing  the  acts  neces- 
sary to  restoring  the  proper  practical  relations 
between  these  states  and  the  Union,  and  each 
forever  after  innocently  indulge  his  own  opinion 
whether  in  doing  the  acts  he  brought  the  states 
from  without  into  the  Union,  or  only  gave  them 
proper  assistance,  they  never  having  been  out 
of  it.  .  .  .  It  is  unsatisfactory  to  some  that  the 
elective  franchise  is  not  given  to  the  colored 
man.  I  would  prefer  that  it  were  now  conferred 
on  the  very  intelligent.  .  .  .  No  exclusive  and 
inflexible  plan  can  safely  be  prescribed  as  to  de- 
tails. .  .  .  Such  exclusive  and  inflexible  plan 
would  surely  become  a  new  entanglement.  Im- 
portant principles  may  and  must  be  inflexible. 
In  the  present  situation  it  may  be  my  duty  to 
make  some  new  announcement  to  the  people  of 
the  South.  I  am  considering  and  shall  not  fail 
to  act  when  satisfied  that  action  will  be  proper. 

Fate  was  even  then  preparing  to  prevent  that 
new  announcement.  But  there  is  no  doubt  what 
it  would  have  been. 

Three  days  later  Lincoln  met  the  members  of 
his  Cabinet  and  talked  to  them  informally  of  his 
plans.    He  regarded  it  as  providential  that  Con- 

250 


LINCOLN  S   LAST   DAY 

gress  had  just  adjourned  and  that  there  would 
be  nothing  to  hinder  or  embarrass  the  administra- 
tion. He  would,  he  declared,  tolerate  no  perse- 
cutions. As  to  the  irreconcilables,  his  idea  was  to 
"open  the  gates,  let  down  the  bars,"  and  "shoo" 
them  out. 

Enough  lives  have  been  sacrificed  [he  as- 
serted]. We  must  extinguish  our  resentments  if 
we  expect  harmony  and  union.  There  is  too 
much  of  a  desire  on  the  part  of  some  of  our  very 
good  friends  to  be  masters,  to  interfere  with  and 
dictate  to  those  states,  to  treat  the  people,  not 
as  fellow  citizens;  there  is  too  little  respect  for 
their  rights.  I  do  not  sympathize  with  these  feel- 
ings. .  .  .  We  must  now  begin  to  act  in  the  in- 
terest of  peace. 

He  then  proceeded  to  speak  very  kindly  of  Lee 
and  others  of  the  Confederacy,  and  almost  as  he 
adjourned  the  meeting,  Major  Robert  Anderson 
was  raising  the  national  flag  at  Fort  Sumter, 
lowered  by  him  exactly  four  years  previously. 

Within  a  few  hours  Wilkes  Booth,  a  fanatical 
actor  of  doubtful  sanity,  crept  into  the  presi- 
dential box  at  Ford's  Theater  and  with  a  murder- 
ous shot  deprived  the  South  of  its  best  friend. 

251 


CHAPTER  XLII 

A  NATIONAL  HERITAGE 

FOR  fully  a  year  prior  to  his  death  Lincoln 
had  been  maturing  his  policy  for  the  recon- 
struction of  the  Union  on  the  cessation  of  hos- 
tilities. He  had  offered  a  broad  amnesty  to  those 
who  were  resisting  the  national  authority  and 
indicated,  by  words  and  actions,  his  intention  to 
exclude  no  one  from  its  terms;  had  firmly  an- 
nounced that  the  restoration  of  the  Union  and 
the  abandonment  of  slavery  would  be  the  only 
indispensable  peace  conditions;  had  placed  him- 
self on  record  as  favoring  the  immediate  admis- 
sion to  the  National  Legislature  of  senators  and 
Congressmen  from  the  seceded  states;  had  de- 
termined that  no  persecutions  or  reprisals  should 
be  countenanced;  had  advocated  that  negro  suf- 
frage be  restricted  to  those  who,  by  intelligence 
or  service,  deserved  the  privilege;  had  recom- 
mended the  allotment  of  four  hundred  million 
dollars  among  the  seceded  states  as  compensation 
for  the  emancipation  of  slaves ;  had  secured  from 

252 


A   NATIONAL   HERITAGE 

Congress  a  proposed  amendment  to  the  Constitu- 
tion legally  abolishing  slavery  and  had  urged  its 
prompt  ratification  by  the  states ;  had  condemned 
interference  with  the  South  or  disregard  of  its 
rights  and  otherwise  clearly  dedicated  himself  to 
all  that  would  contribute  "to  bind  up  the  nation's 
wounds." 

The  authority  to  execute  this  policy  did  not, 
of  course,  rest  entirely  with  Lincoln.  But  in  no 
small  measure  it  did,  and  where  the  Legislature 
had  exclusive  jurisdiction  there  was  every  reason 
to  believe  it  would  be  guided  by  the  recognized 
leader  of  the  dominant  party  whose  administra- 
tion had  just  received  an  overwhelming  vote  of 
popular  confidence.  Rabid  and  vindictive  as 
many  of  its  radicals  were,  the  people  of  the  North 
were  in  no  mood  to  follow  them.  On  the  con- 
trary, they  were  generally  disposed  to  adjust 
their  differences  with  the  seceded  states  con- 
siderately and  fairly. 

But  the  assassination  of  the  President  changed 
the  whole  situation.  The  wave  of  indignation, 
sorrow,  and  suspicion  which  swept  over  the  coun- 
try carried  the  most  intolerant  politicians  into 

253 


LINCOLN 

power  and,  in  their  hands,  Lincoln's  beneficent 
policies  were  twisted  out  of  shape. 

Yet  in  one  respect  they  were  fully  realized. 
There  were  no  persecutions  or  reprisals.  That 
never-to-be-forgotten  fact — unparalleled  in  the 
history  of  any  other  civil  war — is  a  potent  offset 
to  the  sins  of  omission  and  commission  which  dis- 
figured the  reconstruction  period,  with  its  orgy 
of  misgovernment,  injustice  and  ill-considered 
legislation  for  which  the  whole  nation  was,  in  the 
end,  bound  to  pay,  has  paid,  and,  to  some  extent, 
is  still  paying. 

Such  are  the  established  facts. 

But  the  fame  of  many  notable  men  has  been 
diminished  by  exaggerations  intended  to  exalt 
them,  and  under  the  accumulation  of  myths  re- 
garding Lincoln,  his  legacy  to  the  nation  bids 
fair  to  lie  entombed. 

Of  his  personality  something  remains.  Yet  it, 
too,  has  suffered  at  the  hands  of  his  idolaters. 
More  than  forty  years  have  passed  since  Robert 
Ingersoll  first  noted  this  tendency  and  sounded 
a  warning  in  his  master-tribute  to  "the  first 
American." 

254 


A   NATIONAL   HERITAGE 

Almost  all  the  great  characters  of  history  [he 
wrote]  are  impossible  monsters,  disproportioned 
by  flattery  or  by  calumny  deformed.  We  see 
nothing  of  their  peculiarities  or  nothing  but  their 
peculiarities.  About  the  roots  of  these  oaks  there 
clings  none  of  the  earth  of  mortality. 

Washington  is  now  only  a  steel  engraving.  Of 
the  real  man  who  lived,  and  loved,  and  hated, 
and  schemed,  we  know  but  little.  The  glass 
through  which  we  look  at  him  is  of  such  high  mag- 
nifying power  that  the  features  are  exceedingly 
indistinct. 

Hundreds  of  people  are  now  engaged  in  try- 
ing to  smooth  out  the  lines  on  Lincoln's  face — to 
force  all  his  features  to  the  common  mold,  so 
that  he  may  appear,  not  as  he  really  was,  but, 
according  to  their  poor  opinion,  as  he  should  have 
been. 

It  would  indeed  be  a  loss  to  posterity  if 
Lincoln's  rugged  features  should  be  warped  "to 
the  common  mold."  But  it  would  be  far  better 
that  his  personality  should  disappear  than  that 
the  true  character  of  his  services  to  his  country 
should  be  misunderstood  or  misinterpreted. 

He  was  no  partisan,  sectional  leader  of  a 
minority  group  whose  dictates  he  blindly  exe- 

255 


LINCOLN 

cuted  with  fanatical  zeal.  He  embodied  the  na- 
tional conscience,  formulated,  in  words,  its 
conclusion  that  the  nation  could  not  exist  half 
slave  and  half  free,  regarded  himself  as  the  serv- 
ant of  its  people,  anticipated  their  will  that  the 
nation  should  not  perish  from  the  earth,  and  so 
guided  them  and  governed  himself  that,  from  the 
outcome  of  the  disrupting  civil  conflict,  there 
should  emerge  neither  conquerors  nor  conquered, 
but  reunited  Americans. 

The  crowning  of  Lincoln's  life  work  was  post- 
poned by  his  assassination  but,  despite  the  follies 
and  injustices  of  the  reconstruction  era,  it  was 
not  frustrated.  The  country  has  long  since  been 
reunited,  but  it  is  not  yet  a  unit  in  recognizing 
him  as  the  rebuilder  of  the  nation  in  whom  all 
its  parts  can  take  a  common  pride. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  Vermont,  Rhode  Island,  Wisconsin, 
Oklahoma,  Idaho,  New  Mexico,  Arizona  and 
Oregon  do  not  yet  officially  celebrate  his  birthday. 
But  it  is  quite  possible  that  his  attitude  toward 
the  nation  in  general,  and  slavery  in  particular, 
is  still  misunderstood  in  those  and  other  states 
which  do  not  thus  honor  his  memory. 

256 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN 

Brady  photograph,   1804.     From  the  original  glass  negative  in 
the  collection  of  Frederick  Hill  Meserve. 


A   NATIONAL   HERITAGE 

In  this  the  tradition — for  it  has  become  such — 
regarding  the  emancipation  proclamation,  is 
probably  a  factor.  If  he  had,  by  a  dictatorial 
edict,  ended  slavery  regardless  of  the  rights  of 
the  slave-holding  states  for  his  own  gratification 
or  that  of  a  partisan  group,  he  would  certainly 
have  disqualified  himself  for  the  nation-wide 
recognition  accorded  to  Washington  whose  work 
he  preserved. 

It  is  difficult  to  dispose  of  any  legend,  even 
when  its  falsity  can  be  demonstrated  with  mathe- 
matical precision,  and  there  is  a  strong  appeal  to 
the  imagination  in  picturing  Lincoln  as  the 
Emancipator  dramatically  liberating  the  negro 
race  with  a  Jovelike  bolt. 

But  perhaps,  some  day,  facts  rather  than  fic- 
tion will  prevail.  Then  it  will  be  realized  that 
Lincoln's  dominating  thought  from  first  to  last 
was  the  integrity  of  the  nation  with,  if  not  with- 
out, slavery;  that  his  emancipation  proclama- 
tion was  a  war  measure  which  practically  emanci- 
pated no  slave  and  certainly  did  not  end  and  was 
not  intended  to  extinguish  slavery  which  con- 
tinued in  full  force  until  almost  the  close  of  the 
war;  that  he  unwaveringly  insisted  that  it  must 

257 


LINCOLN 

be  eliminated  solely  by  the  will  of  the  American 
people  whose  power  and  privilege  no  man  had  the 
right  to  usurp ;  that  he  opposed  the  enfranchise- 
ment of  the  negroes,  except  upon  the  basis  of 
education  and  services;  that  he  labored  unceas- 
ingly for  just  compensation  to  all  those  to  whom 
emancipation  would  cause  loss  and  that  he  strove 
earnestly,  up  to  the  very  moment  of  his  death, 
to  protect  the  seceded  states  from  all  the  after- 
math of  war. 

Lincoln  provided  a  heritage  for  the  whole 
nation.  It  should  not  be  lost  for  lack  of  under- 
standing. 


APPENDIX  I 

FINAL  EMANCIPATION  PROCLAMATION, 
JANUARY  1,  1863 

Whereas,  on  the  twenty-second  day  of  September,  in 
the  year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-two,  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  containing,  among  other  things, 
the  following,  to  wit  : 

That  on  the  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-three,  all 
persons  held  as  slaves  within  any  State,  or  designated 
part  of  a  State,  the  people  whereof  shall  then  be  in 
rebellion  against  the  United  States,  shall  be  then, 
thenceforward,  and  forever  free ;  and  the  Executive 
Government  of  the  United  States,  including  the  mili- 
tary and  naval  authority  thereof,  will  recognize  and 
maintain  the  freedom  of  such  persons,  and  will  do  no 
act  or  acts  to  repress  such  persons,  or  any  of  them, 
in  any  efforts  they  may  make  for  their  actual  freedom. 

That  the  Executive  will,  on  the  first  day  of  January 
aforesaid,  by  proclamation,  designate  the  States  and 
parts  of  States,  if  any,  in  which  the  people  thereof 
respectively  shall  then  be  in  rebellion  against  the  United 
States ;  and  the  fact  that  any  State,  or  the  people 
thereof,  shall  on  that  day  be  in  good  faith  represented 

259 


APPENDIX  I 

in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  by  members  chosen 
thereto  at  elections  wherein  a  majority  of  the  qualified 
voters  of  such  State  shall  have  participated,  shall  in 
the  absence  of  strong  countervailing  testimony  be 
deemed  conclusive  evidence  that  such  State  and  the 
people  thereof  are  not  then  in  rebellion  against  the 
United  States. 

Now,  therefore,  I,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the 
United  States,  by  virtue  of  the  power  in  me  vested  as 
commander-in-chief  of  the  army  and  navy  of  the  United 
States,  in  time  of  actual  armed  rebellion  against  the 
authority  and  government  of  the  United  States,  and  as 
a  fit  and  necessary  war  measure  for  suppressing  said 
rebellion,  do,  on  this  first  day  of  January,  in  the  year 
of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
three,  and  in  accordance  with  my  purpose  so  to  do, 
publicly  proclaimed  for  the  full  period  of  100  days  from 
the  day  first  above  mentioned,  order  and  designate  as 
the  States  and  parts  of  States  wherein  the  people 
thereof,  respectively,  are  this  day  in  rebellion  against 
the  United  States,  the  following,  to  wit : 

Arkansas,  Texas,  Louisiana  (except  the  parishes  of 
St.  Bernard,  Plaquemines,  Jefferson,  St.  John,  St. 
Charles,  St.  James,  Ascension,  Assumption,  Terre 
Bonne,  Lafourche,  St.  Mary,  St.  Martin,  and  Orleans, 
including  the  city  of  New  Orleans),  Mississippi,  Ala- 
bama, Florida,  Georgia,  South  Carolina,  North  Caro- 
lina,  and   Virginia    (except   the  forty-eight   counties 

260 


APPENDIX   I 

designated  as  West  Virginia,  and  also  the  counties  of 
Berkeley,  Accomac,  Northampton,  Elizabeth  City, 
York,  Princess  Ann,  and  Norfolk,  including  the  cities 
of  Norfolk  and  Portsmouth),  and  which  excepted  parts 
are  for  the  present  left  precisely  as  if  this  proclamation 
were  not  issued. 

And  by  virtue  of  the  power  and  for  the  purpose 
aforesaid,  I  do  order  and  declare  that  all  persons  held 
as  slaves  within  said  designated  States  and  parts  of 
States  are,  and  henceforward  shall  be,  free;  and  that 
the  Executive  Government  of  the  United  States,  in- 
cluding the  military  and  naval  authorities  thereof,  will 
recognize  and  maintain  the  freedom  of  said  persons. 

And  I  hereby  enjoin  upon  the  people  so  declared 
to  be  free  to  abstain  from  all  violence,  unless  in  neces- 
sary self-defense ;  and  I  recommend  to  them  that,  in  all 
cases  when  allowed,  they  labor  faithfully  for  reasonable 
wages. 

And  I  further  declare  and  make  known  that  such 
persons  of  suitable  condition  will  be  received  into  the 
armed  service  of  the  United  States  to  garrison  forts, 
positions,  stations,  and  other  places,  and  to  man  vessels 
of  all  sorts  in  said  service. 

And  upon  this  act,  sincerely  believed  to  be  an  act  of 
justice,  warranted  by  the  Constitution  upon  military 
necessity,  I  invoke  the  considerate  judgment  of  man- 
kind and  the  gracious  favor  of  Almighty  God. 


261 


APPENDIX  II 

TRANSCRIPT  OF  DOCUMENTARY  ILLUSTRA- 
TIONS WITH  NOTES  ON  SAME 

LETTER  FROM  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN   TO 
HORACE  GREELEY 
Private  [Page  75] 

Executive  Mansion, 

Washington,  March  24,  1862. 
Hon  Horace  Greeley. 

My  dear  Sir: 

Your  very  kind  letter  of  the  16th  to  Mr.  Colfax, 
has  been  shown  me  by  him.  I  am  grateful  for  the  gen- 
erous sentiments  and  purposes  expressed  towards  the 
administration.  Of  course  I  am  anxious  to  see  the 
policy  proposed  in  the  late  special  message  go  forward, 
but  you  have  advocated  it  from  the  first,  so  that  I  need 
to  say  little  to  you  on  the  subject.  If  I  were  to  sug- 
gest anything  it  would  be  that  as  the  North  are  already 
for  the  measure,  we  should  urge  it  persuasively  and  not 
menacingly,  upon  the  South.  I  am  a  little  uneasy 
about  the  abolishment  of  slavery  in  the  District,  not 
but  I  would  be  glad  to  see  it  abolished  but  as  to  the 
time  and  manner  of  doing  it.  If  some  one  or  more  of  the 
border-states  would  move  fast,  I  should  greatly  prefer 
it ;  but  if  this  can  not  be  in  a  reasonable  time,  I  would 

263 


APPENDIX  II 

like  the  bill  to  have  the  three  main  features — gradual 
— compensation — and  vote  of  the  people — I  do  not  talk 
to  members  of  Congress  on  the  subject,  except  when 
they  ask  me — I  am  not  prepared  to  make  any  sugges- 
tions  about  confiscation —     I  may  drop   you   a  line 

hereafter.  v  ,     , 

Yours  truly,  A     T 

J  A.  Lincoln. 

NOTE 

This  private  letter  to  Greeley,  written  about  six 
months  before  the  final  emancipation  proclamation 
was  issued,  demonstrates  that  the  cardinal  points  in 
Lincoln's  slavery  policy  were  that  emancipation  should 
be  gradual,  compensated,  and  voluntarily  effected  by 
vote  of  the  people. 

To  enable  the  border  states  to  adopt  this  policy  and 
thus  set  an  example  for  other  slave-holding  states,  he 
was  willing  to  sidetrack  the  bill  for  emancipating  the 
slaves  in  the  District  of  Columbia — a  measure  which  he 
had  favored  for  over  twenty-five  years. 

FIRST  DRAFT,  IN  LINCOLN'S   HANDWRITING,   OF  A 

BILL  FOR  COMPENSATED  EMANCIPATION  OF 

SLAVES  IN  DELAWARE 

[Page  199] 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  State  of  Delaware,  that  on  con- 
dition the  United  States  of  America  will,  at  the  pres- 
ent session  of  Congress,  engage  by  law  to  pay,  and 
thereafter  faithfully  pay  to  the  said  State  of  Delaware, 

264 


APPENDIX  II 

in  the  six  per  cent  bonds  of  said  United  States,  the  sura 
of  seven  hundred  and  nineteen  thousand  and  two  hun- 
dred dollars,  in  five  equal  annual  instalments,  there  shall 
be  neither  slavery  nor  involuntary  servitude,  at  any 
time  after  the  first  day  of  January  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand,  eight  hundred  and  sixty-seven, 
within  the  said  State  of  Delaware,  except  in  the  pun- 
ishment of  crime,  whereof  the  party  shall  have  been 
duly  convicted :  Provided,  that  said  State  shall,  in  good 
faith  prevent,  so  far  as  possible,  the  carrying  of  any 
person  out  of  said  State,  into  involuntary  servitude, 
beyond  the  limits  of  said  State,  at  any  time  after  the 
passage  of  this  act;  and  shall  also  provide  for  one- 
fifth  of  the  adult  slaves  becoming  free  at  the  middle  of 
the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty-two; 
one-fourth  of  the  remainder  of  said  adults,  at  the  mid- 
dle of  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  sixty- 
three;  one-third  of  the  remainder  of  said  adults  at  the 
middle  of  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-four;  one-half  the  remainder  of  said  adults  at 
the  middle  of  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
sixty-five;  and  the  entire  remainder  of  adults,  together 
with  all  minors,  at  the  beginning  of  the  year  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  as  hereinbefore  in- 
dicated. And  provided  also  that  said  State  may  make 
provision  of  apprenticeship  not  to  extend  beyond  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  for  males,  nor  eighteen  for 
females,  for  all  minors  whose  mothers  were  not  free, 
at  the  respective  births  of  such  minors — 

265 


APPENDIX  II 

NOTE 

This  Bill  and  a  second  draft  of  the  same  were  pre- 
pared by  Lincoln  in  November,  1861 — about  eight 
months  after  he  became  President.  His  thought  was 
that  if  some  such  measure  for  gradual  emancipation 
with  full  compensation  from  the  United  States  govern- 
ment to  the  slave-owners  should  be  adopted  by  the  peo- 
ple of  Delaware — the  most  northerly  of  the  slave  states 
and  the  smallest  in  slave  population — it  would  encour- 
age other  slave  states  to  enact  similar  laws.  The  Bill, 
however,  met  with  such  opposition  in  Delaware  that  it 
was  not  actually  introduced  in  the  state  legislature. 
Delaware  never  ratified  the  Thirteenth  Amendment  and 
although  many  of  its  slaves  were  purchased  and  pri- 
vately emancipated,  slavery  continued  in  the  state  until 
the  Amendment  of  the  Constitution  became  effective  by 
ratification  of  two-thirds  of  the  states  in  December, 
1865 — about  seven  months  after  Lincoln's  death. 

This  manuscript  is,  perhaps,  the  most  valuable  exist- 
ing Lincolniana  document. 

LETTER  FROM  ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  TO 

A.  H.  STEPHENS 

[Page  237] 

Executive  Mansion, 

Washington,  Feb.  10,  1865. 
Hon.  A.  H.  Stephens. 

According  to  our  agreement,   your  nephew,   Lieut. 
266 


APPENDIX  II 

Stephens,  goes  to  you,  bearing  this  note —    Please,  in 
return,  to  select  and  send  to  me,  the  officer  of  the  same 
rank,  imprisoned  at  Richmond,  whose  physical  condi- 
tion most  urgently  requires  his  release. 
Respectfully, 

A.  Lincoln. 

note 

The  above  letter  has  an  interesting  history.  It  was 
written  by  Lincoln  a  few  days  after  the  conference  at 
Hampton  Roads,  and  shows  that  during  the  conference 
Alexander  Stephens  had  privately  requested  Lincoln  to 
release  his  nephew,  Lieutenant  Stephens,  then  held  as  a 
prisoner  of  war  in  one  of  the  Union  prison  camps. 
Lincoln  evidently  promised  to  do  this  for  his  old  friend 
on  condition  that  some  Union  officer  of  the  same  rank, 
in  poor  health,  should  be  exchanged  for  the  Confederate 
Lieutenant.  That  the  Vice  President  of  the  Confed- 
eracy, while  on  an  official  mission,  had  sought  a  per- 
sonal favor  from  Lincoln  might  have  subjected  him  to 
serious  criticism,  and  Lincoln  probably  wished  no  pub- 
licity to  be  given  to  the  fact  that  he  had  either  re- 
quested or  received  it.  The  matter  was,  therefore,  han- 
dled very  informally.  Lincoln  quietly  released  young 
Stephens,  giving  him  a  personal  note  to  his  uncle  re- 
minding him  of  their  understanding.  In  view  of  the 
somewhat  delicate  situation  Lincoln,  contrary  to  his 
usual  practice,  kept  a  copy  of  this  note  which  passed 

267 


APPENDIX  II 

into  the  possession  of  his  son,  Robert  Lincoln,  who,  a 
few  years  before  his  death,  presented  it  to  The  Pier- 
pont  Morgan  library  with  a  letter  explaining  its  origin. 


APPENDIX  III 

SECESSION  DATES 

1.  South  Carolina,  December  20,  1860  * 

2.  Mississippi,  January  9,  1861  * 

3.  Florida,  January  10,  1861  * 

4.  Alabama,  January  11,  1861  * 

5.  Georgia,  January  19,  1861  * 

6.  Louisiana,  January  26,  1861  * 

7.  Texas,  February  1,  1861  * 

8.  Virginia,  April  17,  1861 

9.  Arkansas,  May  6,  1861 

10.  North  Carolina,  May  20,  1861 

11.  Tennessee,  June  8,  1861 

*  Before  Lincoln  became  President. 

SLAVERY  ABOLISHED  BY  STATE  LAW 

1.  In  District  of  Columbia,  April  16,  1862 

2.  In  Louisiana,  April,  1864 

3.  In  Maryland,  October,  1864 

4.  In  Missouri,  January,  1865 

5.  In  Mississippi,  August,  1865 

6.  In  Alabama,  August,  1865 

7.  In  South  Carolina,  September,  1865 

8.  In  North  Carolina,  October,  1865 

269 


APPENDIX  III 

9.    In  Georgia,  November,  1865 

10.  In  Florida,  December,  1865 

11.  In  Texas,  February,  1870. 

December  18,  1865,  the  Thirteenth  Constitutional 
Amendment  abolishing  slavery  became  law  by  ratifica- 
tion of  thirty-three  states  out  of  the  thirty-six  states  of 
the  Union,  including  Virginia,  Tennessee,  Arkansas, 
Louisiana,  South  Carolina,  North  Carolina,  Alabama, 
and  Georgia.  Kentucky,  Delaware  and  Texas  never 
ratified  it — Mississippi  only  conditionally. 


270 


APPENDIX  IV 

LINCOLN'S  SLAVERY  POLICY 

MAIN  EVENTS  ASSOCIATED  WITH  ITS  ORIGIN,   GROWTH  AND 
FORMATION 

PAGES 

Note. — Born  and  lived  for  seven  years  in  Ken- 
tucky, a  slave  state.  At  about  eighteen  visited 
New  Orleans  and  witnessed  slavery  in  active 
operation.  Revisited  New  Orleans  when 
about  twenty-two  years  old;  stayed  there 
several  weeks  with  full  opportunity  to  ob- 
serve slave  market  and  auctions     .       .      5,  20,  21,  22 

1837 

March  8. — With  one  other  member  of  Illinois  Leg- 
islature signed  protest  against  Resolution 
condemning  abolition  societies,  declaring  slav- 
ery protected  in  the  states  by  the  Constitu- 
tion and  upholding  it  in  the  District  of 
Columbia 

The  protest  read,  in  part:  "the  under- 
signed believe  that  slavery  is  founded  on 
injustice  and  bad  policy,  but  abolition  doc- 
trines tend  rather  to  increase  than  abate  its 
evils;  that  Congress  has  no  power  to  inter- 
fere .  .  .  with  slavery  in  the  .  .  .  states 
271 


APPENDIX  IV 

PAGES 

.   .  .  but  has  power  to  abolish  it  in  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia.   ..." 50, 51 

1847 

October  17. — Lost  case  for  Matson — a  slave-owner 
— by  admitting,  in  open  court,  that  if  the 
client  brought  slaves  from  Kentucky  to  Illi- 
nois as  laborers  on  his  farm  they  were  free     120,  121 

1848 

Introduced  bill  in  House  of  Representa- 
tives to  abolish  slavery  in  the  District  of 
Columbia 74,76 

1848-54 

Practiced  law  on  Eighth  Judicial  Circuit, 
Illinois,  during  which  period  he  became  one 
of  the  leaders  of  the  bar,  a  specialist  in  jury 
cases  and  a  notable  speaker 78-102    . 

1854 

May  SO. — Bill   introduced   by   Douglas,  repealing 

the  Missouri  Compromise,  became  a  law  .       .  103-108 

June. — Lincoln  announced  for  first  time  his  con- 
clusion that  the  nation  could  not  endure 
"half  slave  and  half  free" 107 

October. — Began  answering  Douglas'  defense  of 
the    Repeal.      Reentered    politics,    becoming 

272 


APPENDIX  IV 

PAGES 

member  of  Illinois  Legislature  and  candidate 

for  Senatorial  nomination 110-114 


1856 


May  29. — Made  chief  address  at  first  Convention 

of  Republican  party  in  Illinois     .       .       .      .  115 

December  18. — Dred  Scott  decision  announced  in 

United  States  Supreme  Court       .      .      .      .117-119 


1857 


June  26. — Began   answering  Douglas'   defense  of 

Dred  Scott  decision 120-124 


1858 


June  16. — Nominated  for  Illinois  Senatorship 
against  Douglas.  Made  his  famous  "house 
divided  against  itself"  speech        ....  125 

August  21  to  November.  —  Douglas-Lincoln  de- 
bates and  Senatorial  campaign,  during 
which  Lincoln  announced  his  conclusion  that 
both  the  North  and  the  South  were  equally 
responsible  for  slavery;  that  the  question  was 
a  national  one  to  be  settled  by  amending  the 
Constitution,  which  could  be  done  only  by 
the  people,  neither  Congress  nor  the  Presi- 
dent having  the  power  to  make  any  change 

in   it ,      .       .       .  127-133 

273 


APPENDIX  IV 


1861 


March. — Declared  in  Inaugural  Address  that  he 
had  "no  purpose  direct  or  indirect  to  inter- 
fere with  the  institution  of  slavery  where  it 
exists";  that  he  had  "no  right  under  the 
Constitution  to  do  so,  and  that  he  had  "no 
inclination  to  do  so" 177 

September  11. — Set  aside  General  Fremont's  order 

freeing  Missouri  slaves 179 

November. — Drafted  bill  introduced  in  the  Dela- 
ware Legislature  for  gradual  emancipation 
of  slaves  by  compensation  to  the  state  by  the 
nation.  .  .  199,  202.  {See  also  Appendix  II, 
263.) 

1862 

March. — Recommended  Congress  to  pass  (and  it 
did  pass)  Resolution  offering  just  compen- 
sation to  any  state  which  adopted  gradual 
abolishment  of  slavery 179 

March  9. — Prepared  and  circulated  tables  showing 
that  all  Delaware  slaves  could  be  purchased 
at  one-half  a  day's  cost  of  war  and  all  slaves 
in  Delaware,  Maryland,  District  of  Columbia, 
Kentucky  and  Missouri  for  eighty-seven  days' 
cost  of  war 193,201,202 

April  16. — Procured  legislation  abolishing  slavery 
in  District  of  Columbia  with  compensation  to 

274 


APPENDIX  IV 

PAGES 

slave-owners  on  general  lines  of  his  bill  intro- 
duced as  Congressman  in  1848       ....  220 

April. — Negotiated  treaty  with  Great  Britain  for 

suppressing  slave  trade 179 

May  19. — Set  aside  order  of  General  Hunter  free- 
ing slaves  in  Georgia,  Florida  and  South 
Carolina 180 

Appealed  to  border  states  to  adopt  grad- 
ual emancipation  with  compensation  for  loss  181 

July. — Prepared  veto  of  Confiscation  Bill  attempt- 
ing to  free  slaves  by  Act  of  Congress.  Bill 
amended  to  avoid  veto 180 

July  17. — Prepared  first  draft  of  emancipation 
proclamation.  Read  same  to  Cabinet  and 
then  withdrew  it  from  further  consideration  181-182 

August  22. — Answered  open  letter  of  Horace 
Greeley,  complaining  of  his  policy,  by  ad- 
vising him  that  his  "paramount  object"  was 
"to  save  the  Union  and  not  either  to  save  or 
destroy  slavery" 182-185 

September  23. — Issued  preliminary  emancipation 
proclamation.  This  was  virtually  a  warning 
to  the  seceded  states  that  if  they  did  not  re- 
enter the  Union  by  January  1,  1863,  all  slaves 
within  certain  territory  would,  as  a  war 
measure,  be  declared  legally  emancipated  .  187-195 
275 


APPENDIX  IV 

PAGES 

1863 


January  1. — Final  emancipation  proclamation  is- 
sued. As  a  war  measure  it  declared  emanci- 
pated all  slaves  in  seceded  states,  except 
Tennessee  and  certain  parts  of  Louisiana  and 
Virginia,  as  to  which  excepted  parts  slavery- 
was  to  be  left  "precisely  as  if  the  proclama- 
tion were  not  issued."  It  had  likewise  no 
effect  in  Missouri,  Kentucky,  Delaware, 
Maryland  and  West  Virginia.  Therefore 
slavery  continued  legal  in  almost  half  of  all 
the  slave  states  and  prevailed  in  all  the 
others,  despite  the  proclamation    ....  189-191 

February. — Bill  recommended  by  Lincoln  to  pro- 
vide ten  million  dollars  to  compensate  Mis- 
souri for  slaves  if  it  abolished  slavery,  de- 
feated in  Congress       219,220 

Similar  measures  for  Maryland  and  West 
Virginia  blocked  in  Congress        ....  224 

December  1£. — Bill  supported  by  Lincoln  propos- 
ing amendment  of  Constitution  abolishing 
slavery  to  be  submitted  to  people  introduced 
in  House  and  Senate 222 

1864 

March  28. — Senator  Lyman  Trumbull,  a  leader  in 
the  Senate,  declared  during  the  debate  on  the 
Thirteenth  Amendment  that  the  emancipa- 
tion proclamation  had  not  and  could  not  de- 
stroy slavery.  It  had,  he  pointed  out,  no 
276 


APPENDIX  IV 

PAGES 

application  to  substantially  half  of  the  slave 
states,  and,  in  the  opinion  of  some  authori- 
ties, had  not  emancipated  a  single  slave. 
Moreover,  he  insisted,  any  state  that  volun- 
tarily abolished   slavery  could  reestablish  it         222 

April  5. — Senator  Reverdy  Johnston  (noted  jurist) 
declared  in  Senate  during  the  debate  that 
when  the  war  ended  no  slave  would  be  free 
by  virtue  of  the  proclamation,  except  those 
under  control  of  the  military  power    .      .      .  222 

April  8. — Proposed  amendment  passed  in  Sen- 
ate       222 

April. — Louisiana  abolished  slavery  without  com- 
pensation.       (Reconstruction     Government.)  231 

June     15. — Proposed     constitutional     amendment 

defeated  in  House  of  Representatives       .      .  222 

October. — Maryland     abolished     slavery     without 

compensation 231 

November. — Lincoln     reelected      President     with 

favorable   supporting  majority  in    Congress         228 

1865 

January  11. — Missouri  abolished  slavery  without 
compensation 

January  81. — Bill  submitting  Constitutional 
Amendment  abolishing  slavery  to  the  people, 

passed  by  House  and  Senate 237,  253 

277 


APPENDIX  IV 


PAGES 


February  3. — Lincoln  recommended  Alexander 
Stephens  to  advise  Georgia  to  ratify  Amend- 
ment to  take  effect  in  five  years      ....  237 

February  5. — Lincoln  drafted  message  to  Con- 
gress, recommending  appropriation  of  $400,- 
000,000  to  compensate  slave-owners  in  all 
seceded  states  and  in  Delaware,  Maryland, 
Missouri,  West  Virginia  and  Kentucky    .      .  240,  252 

April  11. — Opposed    general    enfranchisement    of 

negroes 250,  252 

April  !Jf.-l5. — Lincoln  assassinated        ....  251 

December  18. — Amendment  abolishing  slavery 
adopted  by  ratification  of  two-thirds  of  states 


AUTHORITIES 

The  following  is  a  list  of  authorities  upon  which 
reliance  is  placed: 

Lincoln:  Complete  Works,  ed.  by  John  G.  Nicolay 
and  John  Hay  (Century)  ;  Abraham  Lincoln:  A  His- 
tory, by  John  G.  Nicolay  and  John  Hay  (Century)  ; 
Abraham  Lincoln — The  True  Story  of  a  Great  Life, 
by  William  H.  Herndon  and  Jesse  W.  Weik  (D.  Ap- 
pleton)  ;  History  of  the  United  States  1850-1877,  by 
James  Ford  Rhodes  (Macmillan)  ;  The  Early  Life  of 
Abraham  Lincoln,  by  Ida  Tarbell,  assisted  by  J.  Mc- 
Can  Davis  (S.  S.  McClure)  ;  Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
by  Ida  Tarbell  (Doubleday  and  McClure)  ;  Lincoln — 
Master  of  Men,  by  Alonzo  Rothschild  (Houghton  Mif- 
flin) ;  Abraham  Lincoln — A  Lecture,  by  Robert  G.  In- 
gersoll  (C.  P.  Farrell)  ;  Life  on  the  Circuit,  by  Henry 
Clay  Whitney  (Estes  &  Lauriat)  ;  Notes  on  Lincoln's 
Law  Practice  (unpublished  MS.  by  Judge  Lawrence 
Weldon)  ;  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment, by  Jefferson  Davis  (D.  Appleton)  ;  Opinions  on 
Slavery,  with  Notes,  by  Hon.  William  Whitney  (Union 
Congressional  Committee)  ;  Robert  E.  Lee,  by  A.  L. 
Long  (J.  M.  Stoddart)  ;  Memoirs  of  Gen.  Wm.  T. 
Sherman    (1st   ed.,   D.   Appleton;    2nd   ed.,   Chas.    L. 

279 


AUTHORITIES 

Webster)  ;  Illinois  Historical  Collections,  ed.  by  Edwin 
E.  Sparks  (Lincoln  Series,  Vol.  I,  Illinois  State  His- 
torical Library)  ;  Lincoln-Douglas  Debates — Fifty 
Years  After  {Century  Magazine,  Nov.,  1908,  Vol.  77, 
pp.  3-19)  ;  War  between  the  States,  by  Alexander  H. 
Stephens  (Darby  &  Duvall)  ;  The  Prairie  Years,  by 
Carl  Sandburg  (Hareourt,  Brace)  ;  Abraham  Lincoln, 
by  Lord  Chamwood  (Henry  Holt)  ;  Stephen  Douglas, 
by  J.  D.  Cox  {Century  War  Booh,  Vol.  1,  p.  86)  ;  Own 
Story,  by  Gen.  George  McClellan  (Chas.  L.  Webster)  ; 
Life  of  John  Bright,  by  George  Macaulay  Trevelyan 
(Houghton  Mifflin). 


INDEX 


Abolition  Societies,   50,   51,      Boonville  Court,  12,  14,  15, 

179 
Allen,  98 
Alton,  128 
Amendment  to  Constitution, 

222,  228,  237,  253 
Anderson,  Major  Robt.,  32, 

157,  251 
Anderson's  Creek,  20 
Antietam,    Battle    of,     174, 

246 
Arizona,  256 
Arkansas,  156 
Armstrong  case,  94-101 
Armstrong,  Jack,  24,  94 
Armstrong,  "Duff,"  96 
Autobiography,  68,  69 


Baddeley,  56,  57 
Baker,  Edward,  67 
Baltimore  Convention,  139 
Bell,  John,  143 
Benjamin,  Judah,  138 
Berry,  Wm.,  36 
Berry  &  Lincoln,  36-39 
Black  Hawk  War,  28-32 
"Black  Republicans,"  102 
Blair,  Francis,  Sr.,  233-4 
Boone,  Nathan,  33 


16 
Booth,  Wilkes,  251 
Border  states,  156,  181 
Breckinridge,  J.  C,  143 
Breckinridge  and  Bell,  143 
Brown,  John,  135 
Buchanan,    President,     119, 

147,  150 
Bull  Run,  161 
Burnside,  Gen.,  175,  195-6 


Calhoun,  John,  38 
Cameron,  Simon,  140,  147 
Campbell,   Judge    John   A., 

235 
Canada,  225 

Cartwright,  Peter,  68,  100 
Cases,  famous  law,  93-103 
Cass,  Gen.,  34 
Chancellorsville,  200 
Charleston,  111.,  128 
Charleston,  S.  C,  138 
Chase,    Salmon,     140,    143, 

148,  223,  224,  232 
Chicago  clergy,  185-186 
Circuit,  Eighth  Judicial,  78- 

85 
Circuit  riders,  12-17 


281 


INDEX 


Clary's  Grove,  23-27,  30,  94, 

95 
Compensation  for  slaves,  75, 

179,  181,  201-202,  212, 

220,  221,  240,  252 
Confiscation  Bill,  180 
Congress,  34,  70-77 
Congressional  Directory,  68, 

69 
Constitutional     Amendment, 

222,  228,  237,  253 
Cooper  Union,  136 
Crawford,  "Blue  Nose,"  10 
Cullom  Shelby,  100 

Dates,  Appendix,  II 
Davis,     David,     81-85,     88, 

141,  147 
Davis,    Jefferson,    33,    226, 

233-234,  239 
Debates,  127-133,  138 
Decatur,  111.,  19 
Delaware   slaves,   190,   199, 

201-202,  220 
Democratic  Convention,  138- 

139,  224 
Dickey,  Judge,  107 
District  of  Columbia,  50,  51, 

74,  75,  220,  221 
Douglas,  Stephen  A.,  45,  53, 

66,    103-108,    109-113, 

127-133,  134,  138,  151 
Dred  Scott,  117-8,  121-125, 

130-131 


Eggleston,  Edward,  94 


Electoral  vote,  144 
Emancipation  proclamation, 

181,  187-194,  195-202 
England,  neutrality  of,  160, 

161 
Ethics,  legal,  85-92,  121 
European  opinions,  209 
Ewell,  Gen.,  173 


Farragut,  Admiral,  228 
Florida,  180 

Foreign  intervention,  209 
Fort  Sumter,  156,  251 
Fraim,  Wm.,  94 
France,  210,  224 
Franklin,  Gen.,  196 
Freeport  debate,  128,  129 
Freese,  Jacob,  214 
Fremont,    Gen.,     116,     179, 


Galesburg,  128 
Gentryville,  6,  8,  11,  20 
Georgia,  180 
Gettysburg,  Battle  of,  203- 

209,  246 
Goodrich,  Grant,  76 
Grandfather,  Lincoln's,  1 
Grant,  Gen.  U.  S.,  209,  218- 

219,  222-223,  229,  230, 

245-246 
"Graysons,  The,"  94 
Greeley,  Horace,   124,  182- 

185,  223,  225-226 
Green,  Bowling,  42,  43 


282 


INDEX 


Hackett,  James  H.,  213 
Halleck,  Gen.,  206 
Hamilton,  A.,  33 
Hamilton,  Win.,  33 
Hampton  Roads  Conference, 

235-238,  240 
Hanks,  John,  140 
Hanks,  Nancy,  3 
Hardin,  Gen.,  67 
Hardin  County,  4 
Herndon,  W.  H.,  87,  100 
Hodgenville,  4 
"Honest  Abe,"  23 
Hood,  Gen.,  231 
Hooker,  Gen.  Jos.,  195-200 
Hunter,  Gen.,  180 
Hunter,  Senator,  235 

Idaho,  256 

Illinois  Central  R.  R.,  95 

Inaugural,    first,    151,    152, 

177 
Inaugural,  second,  241 
Indiana  Courts,  18 
Ingersoll,  Robt.  G.,  254-255 

Jackson,  "Stonewall,"  173, 
200 

Jefferson,  Joseph,  61 

Johnson,  Gen.  Albert  Sid- 
ney, 33 

Johnson,  Mrs.  Sarah  Bush, 
8,  9 

Johnston,  Gen.  Jos.,  172-3 

Jones'  store,  11 


Jonesboro,  128 

Kansas    &    Nebraska,    106, 

124 
Kentucky,  1,  4,  6,  156 

Lee,  Gen.,  R.  E.,  158-159, 
173-174,  187,  200,  223, 
230,  239,  244-245 

Lincoln,  Abraham  (grand- 
father of  President),  1 

Lincoln,  Thomas,  2,  3,  4,  8, 
18 

Lincoln,  Mrs.  Thomas,  3,  5, 
6,  8,  9 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  Presi- 
dent, Slavery  policy  of, 
see  Chapters  XXXIII, 
XXXIV,  XXXV, 

XXXVII,  XXXVIII; 
236-238,  240;  Chapters 
XLI,  XLII 

Lincoln-Douglas  debates, 
127-133 

Lincoln  &  Herndon,  68,  78 

"Little  Napoleon,"  195 

Logan,  Judge  S.  T.,  49,  100 

Logan  &  Lincoln,  64-67 

"Long  Nine,"  48,  50 

Longstreet,  Gen.,  173 

"Lost  Speech,"  115 

Louisiana,  190,  231 

Maine,  256 

Manassas,  Battle  of,  161 
Maryland,     190,    220,    221, 
231 


283 


INDEX 


Mason  &  Slidell,  162,  164 
Matson  case,  120 
Maximilian,  Emperor,  224 
McClellan,    Gen.    Geo.    B., 
161,   165-175,   187-188, 
195,  224,  227-228 
McClernand,  Gen.,  100 
Meade,  Gen.  Geo.,  206-208 
Metzker,  95-96 
Mexican  War,  70-74 
Missouri,  179,  190,  220,  221 
Missouri   Compromise,   103- 

108 
Mobile  Bay,  Battle  of,  228 
Monroe  Doctrine,  224 
Murder  trials,  93-103 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  231 
Negro  troops,  193 
Neutrality,  British,  160-161 
New  Hampshire,  256 
New  Orleans,  20,  21 
New  Mexico,  256 
New  Salem,  20 
North  Carolina,  156 

Office-seekers,  159 

Offut,  Denton,  20,  23 

Oklahoma,  256 

Ordinance  of  Secession,  148 

Oregon,  256 

Ottawa  debate,  128-129 

Palmer,  John  M.,  100 
Pickett's  charge,  207 
Polk,  President,  72 


Pope,  Gen.,  173 

"Popular  Sovereignty,"  106, 

118,  124 
Preliminary      proclamation, 

181,  187-195 
Protest  against  slavery,  50, 

51 


Quincy,  128 


Reconstruction,  248-251 
Republican  Convention,  140- 

143, 224 
Republican  party,  114-117 
Rhode  Island,  256 
Richmond,  Va.,  244-245 
Rock  Island  R.  R.,  95 
Rutledge,  Anne,  46 


San  Jacinto,  162 
Sangamon  River,  27 
Santa  Anna,  71,  72 
Scott,  Gen.  Winfield,  33 
Secession  Ordinance,  148 
Seward,  Wm.  H.,  137,  142, 

154,  163,  164,  208 
Sharpsburg,  Battle  of,  174 
Sheridan,  Gen.  Phillip,  228, 

229 
Sherman,  Gen.  W.  T.,  228, 

229,   231,  242-244 
Short,  John,  39 
Slave  trade,  179 


284 


INDEX 


Slavery  protest,  50,  51 
Slavery  as  affected  by  eman- 
cipation    proclamation, 
189-195,  201-204 
South    Carolina,    146,    148, 

156,  180 
Southern  army,  193 
"Spot  resolutions,"  73 
Springfield  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, 61 
Stanton,     Edwin,     214-215, 

216 
Stephens,  A.  H.,  235-238 
Stone,  Daniel,  50 
Stuart,  Gen.  J.  E.  B.,  173 
Stuart,  John  T.,  36,  65 
Stuart  &  Lincoln,  52-62 
Sumner,  245 


Talisman,  the,  28 
Taney,  Roger,  151,  232 
Taylor,  Zachary,  33 


Tennessee,  156,  190 
Texas,  71,  72,  73 
Thirteenth  Amendment,  237, 

253 
Thomas,  Gen.,  231 
Todd,  Mary,  66 
Trent,  162 
Trumbull,  Lyman,  113 

Unconditional    Union    Men, 
211-213 

Vandalia,  50 

Vermont,  256 

Vicksburg,  209 

Virginia,  slaves  in,  22,  190 

War,  causes  of,  176-178 
Ward,  Artemus,  188,  189 
West  Virginia,  190,  220,  221 
Wilkes,  Capt.,  162,  163 
Willson,  Judge,  120 
Wisconsin,  256 


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